South Korean crime thriller ‘The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil’ is getting a Hollywood remake with actor Don Lee reprising the lead role as a gang boss looking for redemption, Deadline reported.
Lee, whose acting credits include Disney/Marvel’s ‘Eternals’ and Korean blockbusters ‘Train to Busan’ and ‘The Roundup’, is also producing under his US banner Gorilla 8 Productions; alongside Chris S Lee, CEO of B&C Content; Billy Acumen, CEO of BA Entertainment; and Sylvester Stallone and Braden Aftergood under their production banner, Balboa Productions.
The remake bankrolled by Paramount Pictures is currently in the early stages of development. The original film, directed by Lee Won-tae, centred on fierce and feared gang boss Jang Dong-su played by Lee, who barely survives a violent attack by an elusive serial killer.
With his reputation damaged, the only way for Jang to restore his image is to find the attacker and exact revenge. He thus forms an unlikely partnership with a local detective to catch the sadistic criminal simply known as ‘K’.
‘The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil’ was screened in the Midnight Screenings section at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.
With audiences hungry for Korean content in the wake of Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-winning ‘Parasite’ (which also debuted at the 2019 Cannes festival), and other breakouts like ‘Squid Game’, it’s a fine time to be in the Korea game.
