Sequel to Wall Street on track as Fox hires scriptwriter

As world markets crash and soarin alarming tumult, Fox has moved ahead with a sequel to the 1987 film Wall Street, hiring a former stockbroker to write the script.

Allan Loeb, a licensed stockbroker who once worked at the Chicago Board of Trade, has signed on to write Money Never Sleeps, according to trade paper the Hollywood Reporter.

Loeb wrote the gambling film 21, starring Kevin Spacey, and created the TV series New Amsterdam.

Ed Pressman, who produced the original, is back for the sequel, and Michael Douglas is reportedly ready to reprise his role as the corrupt Gordon Gekko, who in the original was on the brink of surrendering to police after being sold out by his protege, played by Charlie Sheen.

"He went to jail," confirms Pressman.

Douglas has indicated he may agree tostar in thesequel depending on the script he gets.

"I don't think he's much different," noted Douglas to the New York Times when asked about Gekko's possible redemption.

"He's just had more time to think about what to do."

The film, which wasn't a hit when it came out, has been referenced many times for Gekko's phrases, which included "greed is good" and "lunch is for wimps."

The Hollywood Reporter says neither director Oliver Stone, who helmed the original, nor Sheen are expected to return.

Douglas is busy on two projects starring in Solitary Man, about a car magnate, and also the action thriller Racing the Monsoon, set to begin filming in January in India.