Race 4: Saif Ali Khan to return to hit franchise; Salman Khan dropped?’

Saif Ali Khan is all set to return to the Race franchise with Race 4. While Salman Khan had replaced him in Race 3, it was a franchise that was shouldered by the Chote Nawab in the first two movies and he was the one responsible for making it a big hit.

Race was the movie that changed career track for Saif Ali Khan to some extent. He was the lead actor in this suspense-action thriller playing an elder brother to Akshaye Khanna. The dynamics between these two step-brothers, their girlfriends and how things flare up during the climax had made Race a big hit in 2008. It was followed by Race 2 in 2013 which was also a decent hit.

Thus Race became a franchise and everyone expected a threequel to hit the theaters. And it did come but Saif Ali Khan was replaced by Salman Khan-much to the disappointment of the Saifoo fans. Directed by Remo D’Souza, Race 3 was a big flop with many fans saying that Saif should never have been replaced in the threequel and that people just could not accept the Dabangg star in his place.

Pinkvilla has reported that both Saif Ali Khan and the producer Ramesh Taurani has been discussing the possibility of Race 4 for some time now. After a lot of discussions both of them have decided to reboot the franchise with Race 4.

The movie is expected to go on the floors in the first quarters of next year with the basic plot already being locked. The makers are now working on the screenplay and hunt is on to hire big actors and ensemble to come on board for this reboot.

Reports are also adrift that Ramesh Taurani and team are looking for a fresh and young, creative director to helm Race 4 and once again create a magic at the box-office. But since Saif is on the board and is confirmed as the male lead, it seems Salman Khan will not be a part of this movie. Whether he will appear in a cameo or not is not yet confirmed.