John Woo is looking to remake one of his own movies. The legendary action director is set to revisit his 1989 Hong King crime classic The Killer, with Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o potentially poised for the lead.
In the original, Mob assassin Jeffrey (Chow Yun-Fat) is no ordinary hired gun; the best in his business, he views his chosen profession as a calling rather than simply a job. So, when beautiful nightclub chanteuse Jennie (Sally Yeh) is blinded in the crossfire of his most recent hit, Jeffrey chooses to retire after one last job to pay for his unintended victim’s sight-restoring operation. But when Jeffrey is double-crossed, he reluctantly joins forces with a rogue policeman (Danny Lee) to make things right.
Nyong’o is set to play the role made famous by Chow Yun-Fat in the original. Deadline reports that the new movie will blend espionage with extraordinary stunts to capture the feel of the original.
The screenplay for the redo is written by Eran Creevy (Collide) based on an original draft by 10 Cloverfield Lane‘s Josh Campbell and Matt Stuecken. Brian Helgeland is being brought on to do a production pass, so reports the trade blog.
Here’s the trailer for the remarkable original.
