Here’s a headline that’ll evoke many movie buff’s hearts to stop-a-beat : Jason Statham is set to star in a remake of ”Heat”.

Thankfully, that’s not Michael Mann’s 1996 masterpiece (starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino as fucked-up criminal and cop, respectively, who discover they’ve more in common than most would assume) that’s being redone, but a little-seen Burt Reynolds movie from the decade prior.

”Heat ”(1986) starred Reynolds as a tough recovering gambling addict who makes his living providing protection in the rough edges of the gambling world.

In the redo, Statham’s character refuses to resort to gunplay, strictly using hand and edged weapon combat. When a dear friend is brutally beaten by a high-rolling mobster, he helps her get her revenge and he ends up in more trouble than he ever imagined.

One would normally write this kind of flick off as I-can-afford-to-skip-it fluff, but those other films don’t have William Goldman (”Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”) writing and Brian De Palma (”Scarface”, ”The Untouchables”) directing.

Might Jason Statham finally get his moment to prove he can play actor just as well as he can play movie star? Aiming too high, maybe.

”Heat” (by golly they better change the name of this movie!) will go into production late 2012 or early 2013 in France.

Meantime, who wants to snap up the rights to that other Burt Reynolds action classic “Rent-A-Cop”? Could work as a possible Dwayne Johnson vehicle?