KANE & LYNCH is one of those long-gestating projects that has had so many stops and starts that you start to wonder if it already came out and you just missed it. Based on the videogame from IO Interactive and published by Eidos Interactive. The film was originally set up in 2008 with Bruce Willis as Kane and stunt coordinator turned director Simon Crane was set to direct. In 2010, Jamie Foxx was set to join the cast as Lynch and it seemed like the film was a go from there, with posters promoting the film showing up at Cannes. However, right after that, Crane was replaced by F. Gary Gray (THE NEGOTIATOR), while even more names were being tossed around to possibly helm and the project basically “went dark” and wasn’t heard from again.
Now that the history lesson is over, it appears that the adaptation is once again adding another notch in the belt towards becoming a reality. THR is reporting that Gerard Butler is in talks to join the project, taking over for Willis’ Kane role and an offer apparently out to Vin Diesel for the Lynch part. Butler previously worked with Gray on LAW ABIDING CITIZEN (also with Foxx…anyone else confused yet?).
Here’s the game synopsis:
The game follows Kane, a death row inmate who, along with a schizophrenic killer named Lynch, is sprung from prison to retrieve a stolen fortune. Kane travels to Los Angeles, Japan and Cuba, with Lynch acting as the team’s watchdog in order to save his wife and daughter.
Having never played the game and being rather impartial to it all I will say that a Gerard Butler/Vin Diesel team up could be pretty cool. Gray is a serviceable director who can handle the material, but aside from that I feel shades of HITMAN at work.
What do you think? Do we still want/need a KANE & LYNCH film?