Check Out the Poster, Trailer for 'Straw Dogs,' Starring James Marsden, Kate Bosworth and 'True Blood' Star Alexander Skarsgard

Director Rod Lurie has an uphill battle ahead of him in remaking "Straw Dogs," Sam Peckinpah's best film (in my estimation).

It looks like he, or the studio, is trying to make the road a little easier by using the design of the original's poster, but for many, he missed the point right away in casting James Marsden. And the changes on the poster aren't doing the film any favors, highlighting its ties to the original rather than abandoning them entirely.

Marsden is a uniquely talented actor who can handle drama and comedy with equal aplomb, but the casting of Dustin Hoffman in the original was no accident. The immediate sense of diminished masculinity that exudes from him is key to the film, and when you're replacing him with someone who's played a superhero (in the first three "X-Men" movies), Prince Charming (in "Enchanted"), and James T. Kirk (in the "Star Trek" reboot) well, it doesn't have quite the same effect.

But even if this turns out to be a straight, if slightly miscast, remake, it'll have a lot more thematic weight and tension than the average home-invasion thriller. I'm just waiting for them to awkwardly shove in a line explaining the title.

Of course, whether or not Marsden can pull off a convincing nerd, it may not matter to audiences much. "True Blood" star Alexander Skarsgard plays the primary bad guy, and while the things he ultimately does may turn off fans of the show, his svelte Swedish good looks are sure to bring in an audience for the film.

Check out the newly-released poster, side-by-side with the one for the original, and the previously-released trailer, below. "Straw Dogs" will be released on September 16th.