James Wan Is Adapting an Undersung Korean Action Movie
James Wan will tackle the unholy trinity of cops, mob bosses, and serial killers in a new reimagining of a Korean cult classic.
Horror maestro James Wan hasn’t directed a movie since 2023 DC flop Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, but all that’s about to change because he’s taking on a remake of a fantastic but still largely obscure Korean action movie that Sylvester Stallone’s production company, Balboa Productions, has been trying to get moving since 2019.
According to THR, Saw and The Conjuring director Wan will helm a “reimagining” of The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil for Paramount. Wan and the studio are also keeping original star Ma Dong-seok (Train to Busan, Eternals) in the cast as they begin working on their English-language adaptation of the film. Shay Hatten, who wrote John Wick: Chapter 4 and the upcoming Resident Evil movie for Zach Cregger, will handle the screenplay.
The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil follows an unlikely partnership between mob boss Jang Dong-soo (Ma Dong-seok) and detective Jung Tae-seok (Kim Mu-yeol) as the pair reluctantly join forces to hunt down a serial killer. Having become the only survivor of an attack by the mysterious killer and fearful that his reputation would be in tatters if people found out he was nearly murdered, Dong-soo begins searching for his attacker but fails. When hot-headed detective Tae-suk realizes he also can’t find the killer before he strikes again, he accepts Dong-soo’s help, and the two combine their criminal network and police resources to track the killer down.
Though their efforts lead them to the perpetrator of the horrific crimes, the men disagree on how he should be dealt with. Dong-soo is dead set on personal revenge while Tae-seok wants him put in jail, setting up a final brutal confrontation for the ages.