John Wick Team Reuniting For Man From Nowhere Movie Remake

Chad Stehelski and Derek Kolstad, the respective directors and writers of the massively successful John Wick series, are reuniting for an American version of The Man from Nowhere. The remake of Lee Jeong-beom’s 2010 South Korean action-thriller (not to be confused with the 2016 Indian remake starring John Abraham) will come from New Line, produced by Stahelski and his partner Jason Spitz through their production banner, 87Eleven Entertainment.

The original Man From Nowhere follows a pawnshop owner with a military past named Cha Tae-sik as he exacts brutal and well-directed punishment on a drug ring that kidnaps a little girl whom he considers his only friend. It starred the now seemingly retired Won Bin, and was the highest-grossing film in Korea that year at about $43 million. Interestingly enough, an English-language remake was written for Dimension Films back in 2012, but the project fell through, and the rights reverted back to CJ Entertainment before being bought again by New Line in 2016.The project is directly in the wheelhouse of this team, as one could say they specialize in violent revenge stories about quiet loners.

Deadline reports that Kolstad has already finished the script and that executives are very excited to get into production. Though he is joining on to produce, Chad Stahelski doesn’t intend to direct, as he’s plenty busy with other projects already. Meetings with potential directors will be happening as soon as possible, according to insiders, and it’s likely they’ll be chomping at the bit to work on one of Kolstad’s scripts.

Both Stahelski and Kolstad have been very busy recently, even outside the bubble of nearly $600 million John Wick franchise. 87Eleven Entertainment has the spinoffs Ballerina and The Continental on their hands, and Stahelski is personally lending his expertise to the eventual production of The Matrix 4. Meanwhile, Kolstad has become one of Hollywood’s premiere action writers, with an animated Splinter Cell Netflix show and a My Friend Pedro adaptation with former John Wick collaborator David Leitch on his calendar.

The Man From Nowhere is a solid action movie, notable more so for its brutality and kinetic than its story. Ultimately, it’s not unlike John Wick in that way, and leaves plenty of room for the balletic violence and visual storytelling that makes the series so popular. It’s disappointing to see that Stahelski most likely won’t be directing himself, but such a high profile project will likely attract a talented director with a similar respect for the art of stunt choreography, leaving fans with another stylish and technically impressive action spectacle to add to the archives.

Source: Deadline

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