Nathalie Emmanuel joins Omar Sy for John Woo’s English-language remake of ‘The Killer’ for Peacock streaming service

"The Killer" Japanese Theatrical Poster

“The Killer” Japanese Theatrical Poster

And the award for the most remakes from a single filmmaker goes to… John Woo. Two A Better Tomorrow remakes, one Once a Thief remake (two, if Ding Sheng is still workin on his) and some Killer remakes that have been in “development hell” since the 90s. And now, we have another one to add to the mix…

Several months ago, U.S. streaming service Peacock, in association with Universal Pictures, announced that “celebrated action auteur John Woo returns to reimagine and direct his own classic” English-language remake of his 1989 Hong Kong crime classic The Killer in 2023.

French actor Omar Sy (Jurassic World, Lupin), who is widely known for his award-winning role in 2011’s The Intouchables will lead the film. Nathalie Emmanuel (Game of Thrones) will star opposite Sy (via Deadline).

Earlier plans of the remake, which would have starred Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o (Black Panther, 12 Years a Slave), who would have played the assassin (a role originated by Chow Yun-fat), have been scrapped.

Then there was that other remake brewing. At Filmart 2018, Er Dong Cultural Group – the film company behind Operation Red Sea – announced their own Chinese-language Killer remake on their to-do list. Unfortunately, details ran dry on this one as well (via THR).

Then in 2012, news started to circulate that The Killer would be remade in 3D by Korean filmmaker John H. Lee (The Cut Runs Deep) with Jung Woo-sun (The Good, the Bad, the Weird) attached as one of the leads. Obviously, development for this one hit a dead end as well.

We’ve now come full circle from 2015 when Woo told SD that he was aiming to direct an English-language remake himself: “I still have a couple of projects developing in Hollywood, so after Manhunt, I probably will go back to Hollywood to make another action thriller. I’m going to make The Killer in an American version.”

In a recent interview with Deadline during the Fantasia Film Festival (Montreal, July 14-August 3), where Woo was being honored with a career achievement award, he had this to say about The Killer remake: We originally tried to hire another director to shoot it, but couldn’t find anyone, so I took on the job. We maybe shouldn’t call this The Killer, because we’re making a very different version, as the lead character [an assassin played by Chow Yun-fat in the original] will be played by a woman. We’re doing the casting now. We were talking to Lupita Nyong’o but she had to pass so we’re looking for somebody else. The story is similar to The Killer, but we can say it’s more of a story about friendship than a love story.

In the meantime, John Woo has recently wrapped up Silent Night, a dialogue-free actioner starring Joel Kinnaman and Kid Cudi.

The idea of remaking The Killer (in any language) is nothing new. Back in 1992, director Walter Hill (48 Hrs) wrote a screenplay to a Hollywood version of The Killer. It was set to star Richard Gere and Denzel Washington. John Travolta, who previously collaborated with Woo on Broken Arrow and Face/Off, was “entertaining the possibility” of starring in the remake as well. Due to scripting problems revolving around the main characters, the project was never realized.

We’ll keep you updated on The Killer (any of ’em) as more news arrives. Stay tuned!



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16 Responses to Nathalie Emmanuel joins Omar Sy for John Woo’s English-language remake of ‘The Killer’ for Peacock streaming service

  1. Shadow says:

    Holy f**k!!!! I really hope this news is just a bad, very bad f*****g dream, and this remake will never ever happen! Omg, wtf John Woo is doing……….(((((((((((

  2. “John Woo to remake ‘The Killer’ with ‘Black Panther’ star”

    For a moment there I read that as ‘Black Panther Warriors’, and imagined a remake of ‘The Killer’ with a 90’s era Brigitte Lin in the lead. Now that, I would have watched. Still, we’ll always have ‘Golden Queens Commando’.

  3. Andrew Hernandez says:

    I read the Walter Hill script for The Killer remake, and it was interesting. He got the action down very well, but Lee was portrayed as a self righteous prick, and he doesn’t form any kind of friendship with The Killer. Jenny is also portrayed as being unlikable with a shitty attitude.

    I actually have no problem with Woo doing this. I just hope he learned from his mistakes on Manhunt. Lupita Nyongo as The Killer could work. I just hope she gets to rock the nice suits.

    I’m more concerned with the Mainland version. If the ABT remake is any indication, there will be no Woo styled action, no cops bonding with criminals, and the nameless police will be the heroes.

  4. Andrew Hernandez says:

    I wonder if it’ll be retitled because of David Fincher’s upcoming The Killer based on the graphic novel, and The Killer coming from South Korea.

    • JJ Bona says:

      I saw that. I was excited that Fincher was tackling it, but turns out, it’s a whole other movie. I actually think an edgy arthouse director like him would do great at remaking The Killer.

      • Henry McKeand says:

        Yeah I kind of wonder what’s bringing Woo back to this one. It’s a perfect movie–no need for an “improvement.” Someone like Fincher would be really cool for this, and he could have leaned into the darkness and the heightened reality. He’s never done a straight up “action movie”

        Maybe Woo just sees this as an opportunity to craft some new action sequences with a Hollywood budget and a story/title that will draw in fans of the original. I’d be fine with that, as it’s a great set up for his kind of action. I thought Manhunt was pretty bad lol–I hope Woo still has some hunger.

      • Andrew Hernandez says:

        Yeah, I haven’t looked up the graphic novel yet, but it sounds interesting. Woo and Fincher are going to have a fight over this one!

  5. Looks like a good classic action movie.

  6. SK says:

    Here’s an idea, how about just the release the original movie in a nice 4K UHD collector’s edition with extras and interviews on UHD blu-ray and scrap all these remake ideas PERIOD. The original movie isn’t even available on a decent HD home release yet all these years. All these remake ideas sound bad, just look how the the two remakes turned out for “A Better Tomorrow.”

  7. Aerosniff Someglue says:

    In his Hong Kong days, John Woo didn’t a “Hollywood budget” to film some of the best action scenes ever made.

    And Omar Sy… And for a streaming shit…

    John, you buried yourself with the disastrous The crossing (not only bad but it lost a fortune) and Manhunt. Let The killer go and let’s hope Silent night will be a more than satisfying end to your career.

  8. Ska Martes says:

    Is John Woo still in director jail for his 2 part turd The Crossing? Between this and his silent movie starring fake Robocop he might as well give up and make Battle at Lake Changjin 3

    • Unfortunately not, he was released on parole and made the abysmal ‘Manhunt’ in 2017.

      • Andrew Hernandez says:

        Manhunt had a lot of problems, but it was still fun and even showed nice glimpses of “Girls With Guns.” Considering what we saw was the edited version since Mainland distributors thought the original was unwatchable, it’s interesting how the film could have been much more intolerable.

        I’m very interested in Silent Night with Joel Kinnaman, and even if his golden years are behind him, he can still make something good.

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