Deadline reports that New Line Cinema’s adaptation of the 2010 South Korean action thriller The Man From Nowhere is moving forward with John Wick‘s Derek Kolstad writing the American version.
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The original, written and directed by Lee Jeong-Beom (No Tears for the Dead), followed a decorated ex-black operations soldier (Won Bin, Mother) who embarks on a bloody rampage when the only person who seems to understand him, his child neighbor, is kidnapped by a Korean-Vietnamese organize crime syndicate.
The film received rave reviews from critics and audiences alike, currently maintaining a 100% “Certified Fresh” rating from critics on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes, and grossed over $42 million at the box office.
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A Man From Nowhere remake has been in the works since 2012 when Dimension Films acquired the rights to the film and had Shawn Christensen (The Vanishing of Sidney Hall) attached to write and direct the project, but after years of no progress, New Line Cinema has acquired the rights and will be producing and distributing the remake. It will mark the second South Korean remake from New Line Cinema following their acquisition of the rights to Train to Busan, the acclaimed 2016 zombie thriller.
Kolstad is most popular for his work on the John Wick franchise, having written both installments in the Keanu Reeves-led series, including the upcoming third entry, John Wick 3: Parabellum, which is set to hit theaters on May 17, 2019. Kolstad is also working on the upcoming TV series spinoff The Continental, as well as a TV series adaptation of the hit IO interactive video game franchise, Hitman, for Hulu.
