Paramount Pictures has set James Wan to direct the reimagining of the critically acclaimed South Korean film “The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil,” TheWrap has learned.
Don Lee, a.k.a. Ma Dong-seok, who starred in the original 2019 film, will reprise his role in the English-language remake as a mob boss who teams up with a cop in order to track a serial killer. Won-Tae Lee directed and wrote the original film.
The original film screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019. While the film got a modest release in the U.S. from Well Go USA, the movie was a box office hit in South Korea, grossing $24.8 million and hitting No. 1 in its opening weekend.
Academy Award winner Brian Helgeland wrote the original draft and will serve as an executive producer, with Shay Hatten writing the screenplay. The studio acquired the rights to the project back in 2022.
Wan and Michael Clear are producing for Atomic Monster. Don Lee (aka Ma Dong-seok) is also producing via his Big Punch Global banner, alongside Sylvester Stallone and D. Matt Geller via their Balboa Productions, Chris Lee via B&C Group, and Jang Won-seok, CEO of BA Entertainment.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, which first reported the news, the film “tells of a police officer and a crime boss who reluctantly team-up to track down a serial killer. With each having their own motives to capture the killer, double-crosses and cat-and-mouse games ensue, along with a heaping helping of police versus criminals and gang versus gang action.”
Wan is represented by CAA, Stacey Testro International, and David Fox at Myman. Helgeland is repped by WME, ID PR and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner Auerbach Hynick Jaime LeVine Sample & Klein. Hatten is represented by CAA and Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Feldman, Rogal, Shikora & Clark. Lee is repped by Gersh.
