Deadline has learned that James Bond scribes Neal Purvis and Robert Wade will pen the script for a new movie from DRIVE and ONLY GOD FORGIVES director Nicolas Winding Refn. The duo have writing credits on six Bond flicks, including all four of the Daniel Craig-led entries in the 007 franchise.
Little is known about the project, however it's being described as an Asian-set action thriller, which has led to speculation that it could be THE AVENGING SILENCE, a film Refn has been developing for a few years now. Last year the director said it will focus on a character that is very much in the same vein as Ryan Gosling's from DRIVE, Vithaya Pansringarm's from ONLY GOD FORGIVES, and Mads Mikkelsen's from VALHALLA RISING.
Yeah, it’s basically a character that appears in my other movies that will now appear again. Having done The Neon Demon, which was predominantly women protagonists, but the character that Mads [Mikkelsen] plays in Valhalla Rising, Ryan [Gosling] plays him in Drive or Vithaya [Pansringarm] in Only God Forgives, I want to make a new movie with that character.
Although Refn's films aren't everyone's cup of tea, I'm a huge fan of the director, and I'm very interested in learning more about what will likely be his next movie.
THE NEON DEMON, Refn's latest directorial effort starring Elle Fanning, Alessandro Nivola, Christina Hendricks, Keanu Reeves and Jena Malone, still doesn't have an official release date, but it should arrive in theaters sometime this summer.