Director James Wan Tapped For 'The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil' Film

TV & Film

Mar 12

James Wan with Amber Heard and Willem Dafoe on the set of Aquaman. — Image Source: The Playlist

Action and horror fans, rejoice! The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that James Wan will direct a remake of the acclaimed Korean action thriller, The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil. The original film, directed by Lee Won-tae, is considered one of the greatest action films to come out of South Korea.

The Gangster, the Cop, and the Devil centers on a gangster and a cop who team up to take down a serial killer. Lee Dong-seok (also known professionally as Don Lee) starred in the original and will reprise his role in the remake. Lee Dong-seok is one of South Korea’s most bankable stars, best known for his roles in The Roundup franchise, Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days, and Train to Busan. He made his American acting debut in the Chloé Zhao-directed MCU film, Eternals.

James Wan has cemented himself as one of the most successful filmmakers in the industry. He’s best known for his work in the horror genre, jump-starting the Saw franchise, the Insidious franchise, and The Conjuring Universe, the latter being the highest-grossing horror franchise of all time with a combined total of $ 2 billion in box office receipts. He turned to big-budget blockbusters in the 2010s with Furious 7 and Aquaman, both of which grossed over a billion dollars and became among the highest-grossing films in their respective studios’ histories. Since then he has directed Maligant and Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom. Maligant was a box-office failure due to a lack of marketing following negative test screenings and Warner Bros.’ ill-advised decision to release its 2021 slate simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. Despite those hurdles, Malignant received positive reviews from critics and has since become a cult classic amongst horror fans. While Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom failed to match the first film’s box-office heights and received even weaker reviews, it was the only DCEU movie released this decade to be a financial success.