Justin Lin is ready to announce his next project, Stakehorse. Is it about a horse made of wooden stakes? Doubtful. Sources say the forthcoming crime thriller is like Ben Affleck’s 2010 banger The Town. The screenplay hails from Justin Piasecki (Expend4bles, Collecting Canada), with a plot revolving around a horse veterinarian who has a side hustle patching up criminals who need medical attention under the table.
After shooting several chapters of the Fast and Furious saga and more, Lin is a clever and creative director with a sleek style all his own. In addition to directing Stakehorse, Lin will produce through his Perfect Storm Entertainment studio with Todd Lieberman and Alex Young of Hidden Pictures. Perfect Storm’s Andrew Schneider and Sal Gatdula will exec produce.
Lin, a champion of the Fast and Furious franchise, directed The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Fast & Furious, Fast Five (still the best one), Fast & Furious 6, and F9: The Fast Saga. He almost directed Fast X, but complications on the set led to Lin exiting the project partway through and handing the reins to Louis Leterrier.
Lin has several projects in various stages of production, including a producer credit on the TV series Seven Wonders. The series follows Dr. Nate Grady, a brilliant botanist-adventurer, and Sloane Seydoux on a race to solve an ancient mystery tied to the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Lin’s next directorial effort, Last Days, is a passion project rolling cameras in Thailand later this month.
Justin Lin is also attached to the Apple thriller Two for the Money, starring Charlize Theron and Daniel Craig. Then there’s Lin’s adaptation of the mega-popular manga and anime One Punch Man. In One Punch Man, Saitama is a hero who does it just for fun and can defeat his enemies with a single punch. Bored with winning one battle after the next, Saitama searches the globe, looking for a worthy opponent to cure his boredom.
Are you excited about Justin Lin venturing into the crime thriller drama? Do you know any horse veterinarians? Did you know a trainer used to tap Mr. Ed’s hoof to make him talk? What? Didn’t you know this is also an introduction to my TED Talk about Useless Horse Facts? It’s too late. You’re in it now. Pay me.