Keanu Reeves (John Wick franchise) is circling a role in James Wan’s upcoming film, The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil, Paramount Pictures’ English-language remake of the 2019 Korean action film, with the star in talks to appear alongside Ma Dong-seok (aka Don Lee), who will reprise his role from the original film.
As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Wan will direct the film, which marks his first feature since 2023’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The filmmaker will also produce via his Blumhouse-Atomic Monster banner, alongside Michael Clear and Jason Blum. Other producers include Lee via his production company Big Punch Global, Sylvester Stallone and D. Matt Geller via Balboa Productions, as well as Chris S. Lee of B&C Group, and Jang Won-seok, CEO of BA Entertainment.
The original 2019 film centred on a police officer (Kim Mu-yeol) and a crime boss (Lee) who enter an uneasy partnership to track down a serial killer. The film was released theatrically in South Korea on 15 May 2019 and was also screened in the “Midnight Screenings” section at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, as well as at the 2019 Fantasia International Film Festival. The film was largely well-received, with critics noting that it managed to revitalise the Korean crime action film genre thanks to its entertaining cat-and-mouse premise.
Wan’s The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil will be a reimagining of the original film, with its script written by Eric Pearson (Fantastic Four: First Steps), based on a draft by Shay Hatten (Resident Evil) and Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential).
While details of the film, including its release window, remain under wraps, having Reeves on board alongside Lee would surely help to take the action film to the next level, considering both stars are action veterans in the industry, with the former well-known for his portrayal of John Wick in Lionsgate’s titular action franchise, while the latter is a familiar face in the South Korean action movie scene, thanks to his appearances in movies like The Roundup, Unstoppable, and The Outlaws.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
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