Two years on from his acclaimed turn in the Coen brothers’ remake of True Grit, Matt Damon has joined a galaxy of stars including Tom Cruise and (maybe) Morgan Freeman in MGM’s planned remake of iconic Western The Magnificent Seven. The boy just can’t get enough of resuscitated cowboy films…

The Sun (let’s not question that reputable source) reports that the Bourne Identity star will inherit Steve McQueen’s character Vin, a broke gambler who joins a mismatched group of cowboys to help protect a Mexican village from bandits. Rival action megastar Cruise is already confirmed as central cowboy Chris (Yul Brynner back in 1960).

James Coburn’s character Britt, who punches cows (standard) is rumoured to be on Kevin Costner’s to-do list, whilst everyone’s favourite good guy Morgan Freeman is considering a rare villainous turn as chief bandit Calvera. He doesn’t look much like Eli Wallach, but we’ll let it slide.

There’s no news of a director yet, but MGM won’t have much trouble finding someone who’s desperate to put their own spin on such an iconic film…