We recently heard talk of Jackie Chan reuniting with Owen Wilson for Shanghai Dawn. Now the martial arts legend has lined up a new action thriller which will bring his talents to the UK.
Chan is in final negotiations for the lead in The Foreigner, a revenge action thriller that has Nick Cassavetes attached to direct. Cassavetes’ varied career includes The Notebook, My Sister’s Keeper, John Q and Alpha Dog. A few days ago he was part of a director short list for The Foreigner but it appears he’s beaten out the competition.
The film is based on the book The Chinaman by author Stephen Leather and follows a restaurant owner in London’s Chinatown who, after the justice system fails him, tracks down and takes revenge on the Irish terrorists responsible for the death of his daughter. In the book the character is a Vietnamese ex Viet Cong assassin and the story was roughly based on the infamous bombings of Harrods department store which the author wrote during his time as news editor at The Times.
The adaptation has been written by David Marconi, whose previous scripts include Enemy of the State, Mission: Impossible II and Die Hard 4.0. The project comes from STX Entertainment, which has ramped up its upcoming slate of films very quickly indeed; they also have the Matthew McConaughey historical drama-thriller The Free State of Jones and the Jason Bateman-Rebecca Hall horror thriller The Gift, among others.
Getting Chan, one of the most known and popular Chinese stars of all, for this project should prove popular since the company is being financed by China’s Huayi Bros as part of a whopping 12-15 films per year deal.
Shooting on The Foreigner is expected to start this October. Chan’s most recent film is the action adventure flick Dragon Blade.
