Director Michael Mann is planning to make a U.S. adaptation of the 2015 Korean crime thriller Veteran.
The project is at development stage, and Mann is working with the U.S. and Korean wings of CJ ENM, Korea’s leading film and TV conglomerate.
It is currently undecided whether Mann himself will direct or just take production and writing credits.
Work halted on the project during the Hollywood screenwriters’ strike and it is unclear when development will pick up.
Mann is currently focusing on the development of Heat 2, which he recently confirmed as his next picture. The project, which is set up at Warner Bros., is the sequel to his genre-defining 1995 noir “Heat.”
Ryoo Seung-wan, writer and director of the original “Veteran,” made the film on a large canvas, but also steered his production to have a comedic or crowd-pleasing tone.
The finished film had its premiered in the 2015 Toronto festival, and was named best film at the Sitges genre festival in Spain.
It earned over $85 million at the South Korean box office, equivalent to $400 million in North America.
Although Mann has previously worked in Asia and with Asian stars — on 2015 “Blackhat” and with Gong Li in 2006 actioner “Miami Vice” — the current plan is to relocate the action from Korea to a U.S. city.
Mann’s latest film, Ferrari, starring Adam Driver as the legendary sports-car magnate, world premiered at the Venice Film Festival and will be released in the U.S. by Neon on December 25.
Ferrari inclusion in the Oscars race may also affect Mann’s schedule.
