Paramount Pictures is remaking the South Korean crime thriller The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil, with original star Don Lee (aka Ma Dong-seok) reprising his lead role as a gang boss who teams with a cop to track down a serial killer.
Lee, who starred as Gilgamesh in Marvel’s Eternals, and Sang-hwa in 2016’s Train to Busan, will also produce through his U.S. production studio Gorilla 8 Productions. Chris S. Lee, CEO of B&C Content, Billy Acumen, CEO of BA Entertainment, and Sylvester Stallone and Braden Aftergood produce via Balboa Productions. The remake is in early development.
The original version of The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil revolves around a notorious gang boss named Jang Dong-su, who gets viciously attacked by a known serial killer. With his reputation in tatters, the only way to reclaim his power is to partner with a local detective to catch the disturbed and dangerous murderer known as “K.”
Won-Tae Lee directed The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil, which earned $22.6 million in Korea, and $25.8 million worldwide. While those might not be big numbers, the film is critically acclaimed and will go nicely alongside New Line’s upcoming remake of Train to Busan, titled The Last Train to New York. Timo Tjahjanto directs the Train to Busan remake, scheduled to pull into theaters on April 21, 2023.
Are you a fan of the original The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil, and do you think the remake will hold a candle to the source material? What are some of your favorite Korean thrillers? I’m partial to Parasite, The Host, and I Saw the Devil. Feel free to list some of your favorites in the comments section below.