The Italian Job (2003 film) by director F. Gary Gray as "inspired by the original." Gray, Powers and Powers, and executive producer James Dyer identified the most prominent similarities as the trio of Mini Coopers used by the thieves, as well as the titular heist involving the theft of gold bullion. Some sequences of the film were storyboarded and previsualized by Gray before production began. Gray had been interested in working with Wahlberg since seeing his performance in "Boogie Nights" (1997). After reading the script for "The Italian Job", Gray contacted Wahlberg, who "fell in love with it" after reading it himself. Green was also
The Italian Job (2003 film) that we're talking very serious about", additionally mentioning that the cast was interested in the project. Neal Purvis and Robert Wade had been working on a draft of the sequel that year. The "Daily Record" reported in September that Theron was signed up for the film. That October, Gray said that he enjoyed making "The Italian Job" and hoped that he would still be interested in directing the sequel if the script became finalized and mentioned that it would be dependent upon scheduling. In January 2010, Twohy was quoted in an interview as saying ""The Brazilian Job" probably isn't happening.