The poker world has waited forever, and finally, Rounders 2 is a reality! Miramax and the Weinstein company came to an agreement that’ll see some hit classics made into sequels, including Shakespeare in Love and Rounders.

What’s exciting about Rounders 2 is the changes that’ll be made to the upcoming film. As Harvey Weinstein told Deadline Hollywood, the movie is set to take on a more international feel “where you start the card game in Paris.” He also added that they need a new supervillain to replace John Malkovich.

The rumored villain is Robert De Niro, who already has an outstanding role from the gambling world to his credit. De Niro played Sam “Ace” Rothstein in the 1995 hit Casino, which inspired millions of people to visit the casino. So it’s only natural that De Niro would be linked to a film that’s inspired millions of people to play poker over the years.

As for the new Paris location, this is certainly a good move because more and more Europeans take up the game every day. We can thank the Hendon Mob and WSOP Europe in large part for this. And who knows…maybe the Rounders sequel will encourage a European poker boom.

In regard to where else this movie is going, Weinstein explained the path by saying, “There might be a certain beautiful Parisian actress involved in it, and then we’re off to the racetrack and Vegas with Matty and Edward Norton, and a new supervillain to replace John Malkovich.”

With Norton coming back to play “Worm,” it’s almost a given that Matt Damon (a.k.a. Mike McDermott) is going to have to bail him out. If De Niro is indeed involved in the project, we can reasonably assume that Worm will be in trouble with him. Whatever the case may be, this is exciting news and I can’t wait to see the film play out on the big screen.