Well… it’s no long just speculation.
Mandate Pictures confirms via press release that Spike Lee will indeed direct the US adaptation of the the manga by Nobuaki Minegishi and Garon Tsuchiya – akaOld Boy.
Folks keep calling it a remake, but, really, the original Korean film by Park Chan-wook was itself based on the comic.
Spike won’t be penning the script however; that job is going to Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend, The Cell).
So… will Will Smith still star?
Recall that as far back as 2008/2009, Steven Spielberg and Smith were reportedly moving forward with plans adapt Oldboy, but were met with some complex, behind-the-scenes rights issues involving the Japanese publishers of the original manga and the Korean producers of Park Chan-Wook’s 2003 cult hit.
Spike and Will have never worked together, oddly enough, and I don’t expect that trend to end anytime soon, but ya never know.
No word on when production will begin, or when the film might be released.
In the story, a man who was imprisoned for over a decade hunts down his mysterious former kidnappers to take revenge.
So, 2 projects confirmed for Spike Lee in a single day! Go Spike!