Mos Def and John Hawkes to star in a prequel to 'Jackie Brown'

Well, when it comes to prequels of Quentin Tarantino movies, I'd much rather it be Kill Bill or Pulp Fiction, but oh well. Then again, Jackie Brown isn't truly a "Quentin Tarantino joint", as it was based on Elmore Leonard's crime novel, Rum Punch. There's been movement on a film adaptation to the book's prequel for quite some time, with Dan Schecter coming on back in 2010 to write and direct. Now it looks like production is gearing up as two pretty big names are set to fill some even bigger shoes.

John Hawkes(Winter's Bone) and rapper/actor Mos Def(The Italian Job) are set to star in The Switch, which takes place about 15 years before Jackie Brown. They'll play younger versions of Louis Gara and Ordell Robbie, played previously by Robert De Niro and Samuel L. Jackson, in a story that has the two criminals hitting it off in prison and deciding to team up one one big score after they're released.

Leonard is on board as a producer, even though Schecter apparently adapted the book without his permission. Pretty ballsy! Adaptations of his work have been pretty hit or miss. For every Out of Sight or Get Shorty, there's a Killshot or Be Cool. Some would even put Jackie Brown in the negative category, as it's always been one of Tarantino's more polarizing films. Personally, I dig it, and despite not knowing squat about Dan Schecter, I'm pretty excited for the prequel.