James Wan is set to direct a reimagined version of ‘The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil’ for Paramount Pictures, bringing the acclaimed South Korean crime story to a new global audience. Actor Don Lee, also known as Ma Dong-seok and the star of the original 2019 film, is attached to the project.

According to a PTI report, the upcoming film will reinterpret the gripping crime thriller that originally premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019. The story follows an unusual alliance between a gangster and a police officer who join forces to hunt down a ruthless serial killer, a premise that earned strong critical response for its tense narrative and powerful performances.

Wan is widely known for directing several major box-office hits, including ‘The Conjuring’, ‘Insidious’, and ‘Saw’, films that eventually developed into successful franchises. He is also among the few filmmakers to have directed two movies that crossed the $1 billion mark at the global box office—’Furious 7’ and ‘Aquaman’. However, his most recent directorial venture, ‘Aquaman’ and the ‘Lost Kingdom’, failed to replicate that success at the box office.

Beyond directing, Wan has also been active as a producer, backing projects such as ‘M3GAN’ and ‘Mortal Kombat’. For the new adaptation, he will produce alongside Michael Clear under their banner Atomic Monster.

The project brings together several prominent names from the global film industry. Brian Helgeland, the Oscar-winning writer known for ‘Mystic River’ and ‘L.A. Confidential’, wrote the original draft of the screenplay and will serve as an executive producer. The script is currently being written by Shay Hatten, whose recent credits include the ‘Resident Evil’ franchise.

Don Lee will also produce the film through his banner Big Punch Global. Other producers attached to the project include Sylvester Stallone and D. Matt Geller through Balboa Productions, as well as Chris Lee from B&C Group and Jang Won-seok, CEO of BA Entertainment.

The original 2019 Korean film gained international attention for its gritty storytelling and high-stakes narrative, with its plot centering on a crime boss who narrowly survives a serial killer’s attack and subsequently teams up with a determined detective to track the murderer down. The Hollywood reimagining aims to build on that premise while expanding its reach for a broader international audience.