Nearly four decades since its release, Scarface remains one of the most iconic movies of the '80s and one of the most popular gangster films of all-time. It remained so popular that Radical Entertainment released a video game tie-in with the franchise in 2006, nearly a quarter-century since the original film premiered.
Developed during the height of Grand Theft Auto's popularity, Radical attempted their version of an open-world gangster video game based on one of the movies that set the template for Grand Theft Auto in the first place. While it could have been a quick cash-in, the game is actually a true labor of love and includes a stellar voice cast featuring actors from the movie, such as Steven Bauer and Robert Loggia, along with big-name celebrities like James Wood, Ice-T, Cheech and Chong, Anthony Anderson, Ricky Gervais, Oliver Platt and Lemmy Kilmister.
For those who haven't played Scarface: The World Is Yours, they may assume that it's a recreation of the film it's based on. The game is actually a sequel to the 1983 classic, which may perplex fans of the movie; after all, Tony Montana's death is one of the most famous in film history and has permeated the pop culture lexicon in a way that few have. It's a high-octane, emotionally charged finale and one of the wildest shoot-outs in film history, concluding with a silent assassin sneaking behind Montana and blasting him with a shotgun.
However, the video game begins with that same shoot-out from the film's ending, only this time, Montana kills that assassin and escapes his mansion alive. The story of the game is of Montana, having lost all of his money and power, working on getting it back and exacting revenge on the drug lords who ousted him in his own traditionally violent way. While it didn't get the popularity of the open-world Grand Theft Auto games it's inspired by, Scarface: The World Is Yours received overall positive reviews with a score of 75 on Metacritic.
Despite fading from public consciousness shortly after its release, Scarface: The World Is Yours did something brilliant in keeping Tony Montana alive and continuing the franchise in video game form. As Scarface's popularity grew through the years, the idea of a sequel was impossible because the face of the franchise was killed at the end of the film.
For a while, the idea of ignoring the film's climax and bringing Montana back in a sequel sounded like something that would only hurt its legacy. With nearly four decades having passed and reimagined sequels to classics such as Halloween 2018 becoming legitimate, the idea of recreating the film's ending to see Montana instead survive doesn't sound too ridiculous.
'80s nostalgia is more prominent than ever, and a sequel to Scarface that follows the plot of the 2006 video game could draw plenty of attention. It's obviously too late to bring back Al Pacino to revive his role as Montana but it's somewhat a blessing in disguise because audiences today will only buy into a new version of Scarface if a Cuban actor plays him.
With the right cast and cast crew behind the project, possibly even bringing De Palma back to direct or produce, a film version of Scarface: The World Is Yours could become a huge box office draw. Even if it flops and fails to recapture the magic of the original, the different cast and time in-between films won't taint the first film's legacy.