Considering John Woo’s style of double-barreled, swan-flying, slow-motion action has been borrowed by Hollywood for decades, learning that a remake of his seminal 1989 film The Killer is in the works should be unsurprising. What may shock you is who is directing and who will be starring in it.
Deadline reports that a remake of The Killer is on the way, and it’ll be Woo himself who directs it. What’s more, Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o is set to star, taking over the role made famous by Chow Yun-fat. That’s right, more gender swapping of iconic movies, folks. Get used to it. The script has had a lot of hands on it, which may not be a good thing. While Brian Helgeland (LA Confidential) is doing the latest pass, it was originally penned by Eran Creevy (Collide) and 10 Cloverfield Lane‘s Josh Campbell & Matt Stuecken.
The Killer starred Chow Yun-fat as a hired killer on his last job for the Hong Kong triad, but in the process he accidentally injures a young girl’s eyes. Devastated by guilt, he begins to follow and take care of her, and the two fall in love. He decides to take on one more job in hopes of securing the money for surgery that will restore her sight.
There’s tons of stylized violence in the John Woo mode, plus an incredibly charismatic lead performance that will be interesting to watch Nyong’o try and fill. But if anyone can do it, it’s her. Her Oscar win for 12 Years A Slave showed she has dramatic chops to spare, and she was entertaining in Black Panther. But this will be the first action movie to put her in the spotlight, and we can only hope Woo makes the best use of her many talents. Getting the most out of his actors has never been a problem before, though.
Shooting begins later this year in France and Germany.
