DJ Caruso takes on Beat The Reaper

DJ Caruso

Disturbia director D.J. Caruso has signed on to direct the adaptation of Josh Bazell’s mob-flavoured suspense novel Beat The Reaper.

Leonardo DiCaprio is the rights holder, having snapped them up for his Appian Way production company a few years ago, and is keen to star if his schedule permits it.

Reaper follows the travails of 14-year-old Pietro Brwna (pronounced Browna), who’s taken in by a mob family after his grandparents are gunned down by thugs.

When Pietro gets revenge on his grandparents’ killers one year later, he’s enlisted by the mob as a hitman. Years later, he's esacped their grip and become a doctor. But once you’re in, can you ever get out?

The first in a series of novels, Reaper could end up being the first in a profitable movie franchise if it does well. Kind of like the anti- Bourne .

Presumably DiCaprio would play the older Pietro, with a lookalike youngling playing the 14-year-old version of the character.

Caruso’s next film, sci-fi book adap I Am Number Four , opens later this month.

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.