Len Wiseman talks Total Recall

Last week we brought you the first official synopsis for Len Wiseman’s Total Recall reboot, the gist of which seemed to be that it will be pretty much the same as the last one, minus the Martian setting.

Now Wiseman has come out and had his say on the project, which he insists will delve deeper into the themes addressed by the Philip K Dick story We Can Remember It For You Wholesale , upon which the first film was based.

“I'm very close to handing over my cut,” Wiseman told Comingsoon.net . “ It's going really well. The combination of mystery and emotion and action, it's coming together. Colin [ Farrell ] is a large part of that and I'm really happy with him.”

“I think the complexity of the dual stories was the most surprising and challenging thing," he continues. "When you see Total Recall , the [ Paul ] Verhoeven film, you experience it, it's finished. When you're involved in diving into the material again and going back into the Philip K Dick story, you realize there is so much to be discussed about the dual stories.

"There's the reality story and there's the fantasy element. They're running parallel together, so you always have to keep those two alive. That's the inherent nature of the concept and what makes the concept so cool.”

And according to Wiseman, that dual-concept meant his cast had to be on their toes throughout filming.

“I will say, at the same time, this made all of the conversation I had with my cast fun," Wiseman added. "Every little detail has to apply to both scenarios. My actors would ask, 'So, in this scene, am I - because I know that I'm lying, because I'm the double agent - how well do I act?’”

“It sounds like a silly question, but do you want the other character to see through that or am I so good as a double agent that you would never suspect I'm the best buddy or the wife.' It's all of those little things. So, that's my long way of saying the dual nature of the story was the best thing about this."

Total Recall will open in the UK on 22 August 2012.

George Wales

George was once GamesRadar's resident movie news person, based out of London. He understands that all men must die, but he'd rather not think about it. But now he's working at Stylist Magazine.

Latest in Movies
Jack Quaid in Novocaine
The Boys star Jack Quaid's commitment to the bit is unmatched as his latest marketing stunt for upcoming action movie Novocaine goes viral
Julian McMahon as Doctor Doom in 2005's Fantastic Four
The Doctor Doom actor from 2005's Fantastic Four thinks Robert Downey Jr.'s take on the role in the next Avengers movies will be "pretty extraordinary": "I love watching his work"
Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
James Gunn reveals Jason Momoa text him about Lobo the day he was announced as DC Studios co-head
Zoe Saldaña in Avatar
James Cameron's wife cried for four hours after he showed her Avatar 3: "She kept trying to get her s**t back together"
Anthony Mackie in Captain America: Brave New World
Brave New World box office crosses milestone for Captain America movies, even though it still might not break even
Michael Bay
Michael Bay and James Cameron had a call to commiserate over the state of the movie industry: "No one can greenlight anything anymore"
Latest in News
Jack Quaid in Novocaine
The Boys star Jack Quaid's commitment to the bit is unmatched as his latest marketing stunt for upcoming action movie Novocaine goes viral
Daredevil: Born Again
Daredevil: Born Again had Disney Plus' biggest premiere of 2025, but its viewership is lower than Agatha All Along and The Acolyte
True Detective
Matthew McConaughey still thinks his own season of True Detective is the best one: "It was one of the great events in TV"
Diego Luna in Andor season 2
Andor season 2 showrunner Tony Gilroy calls Cassian “Star Wars Jesus” ahead of the show’s return on Disney Plus
Fortnite's Lara croft skin in front of a building
Fortnite has had Tomb Raider's Lara Croft locked away in battle pass exclusivity jail for almost 4 years, but she's reportedly getting a new skin very soon
Mind Rot card art (showing a human screaming in agony) with two meme Spongebob Squarepants Secret Lair cards laid over top
MTG's meme-filled Spongebob Secret Lair is enough to kill the average player from the 1990s