Source : @Variety
LOS ANGELES — Keanu Reeves is in talks to star in James Wan’s “The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil” at Paramount Pictures, a reimagining of the acclaimed 2019 South Korean action-crime thriller, Variety reported on Tuesday (Oct 20).
Don Lee, also known as Ma Dong-seok, who led the original film, is attached to reprise his role opposite Reeves. The story follows a police officer and a gangster who reluctantly join forces to track down a serial killer. The Korean original, directed by Lee Won-tae, debuted to rave reviews in the Midnight Screenings section of the Cannes Film Festival in 2019, where Stallone’s Balboa Productions secured the English-language remake rights.
Wan will direct the film, his first feature since 2023’s “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom”. The Malaysian-born filmmaker, best known for launching the “Saw” and “The Conjuring” horror franchises, also directed “Furious 7” and “Aquaman”, both of which grossed more than US$1 billion worldwide. He will also produce alongside Michael Clear and Jason Blum through Blumhouse Atomic Monster, the company formed when Wan’s Atomic Monster merged with Blum’s Blumhouse in 2024.
The casting would deepen Reeves’ ties with Paramount, which is also home to the “Sonic the Hedgehog” franchise in which he voices Shadow. For Wan, the thriller represents a move away from the superhero blockbuster scale of his “Aquaman” films and back towards the tighter, character-driven genre storytelling that first made his name, although no budget or shooting location has been disclosed.
The producing team also includes Lee through his company Big Punch Global, Sylvester Stallone and D. Matt Geller through Balboa Productions, and Chris S. Lee of B&C Group. Lorenzo di Bonaventura has also come on board as a producer. Brian Helgeland and Billy Acumen will serve as executive producers. The project has been in development since 2019, the same year the original film premiered, with Wan joining the production this spring. Eric Pearson wrote the latest version of the script, based on earlier drafts by Shay Hatten and Helgeland.
Reeves, 62, is one of Hollywood’s most bankable action stars, having headlined franchises including “The Matrix” and “John Wick”. He most recently starred in Apple TV’s dramedy “Outcome”, directed by Jonah Hill, and voiced Duke Caboom in “Toy Story 5”. He is next set to return as the voice of fan-favourite character Shadow in “Sonic the Hedgehog 4”, which Paramount has dated for March 19, 2027.
For Lee, the remake means revisiting a character he first played seven years ago. The actor rose to international prominence with the zombie thriller “Train to Busan” and later played Gilgamesh in Marvel’s “Eternals”, while also headlining the hit “The Roundup” crime series at home.
If finalised, the deal would bring together two of the most recognisable faces in modern action cinema under one of the most commercially successful genre directors working today, on a project that has spent seven years in development.
The Hollywood Reporter was first to report Reeves’ involvement. Reeves is represented by WME and Ziffren Brittenham. No production start date or release window has been announced.
The original Variety post can be viewed on X: https://x.com/Variety/status/2112631952398225470.
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