THE KILLER: John Woo is Preparing to Remake His Classic 1989 Actioner for Peacock

By: John M Jerva

Celebrated Hong Kong action maestro John Woo is currently in production on his upcoming action film Silent Night which stars Joel Kinnaman. The film will not have a lick of dialogue but I’m sure the action set pieces will do the talking.

While we wait for more info on that one, we’ve got some news on the long delayed remake of Woo’s 1989 classic The Killer. The movie has been pretty much in developmental hell for decades with several projects falling through the wayside. Walter Hill and John H. Lee we’re two directors attached to the remake at one time with stars like Richard Gere, Denzel Washington, Michelle Yeoh and most recently Lupita Nyong’o in talks to Star at one point or another. Woo was going to helm Nyong’o for Universal but that one was canceled due to scheduling issues with the actress.

Well, never say never, as there is new word that the remake of The Killer is back on and Woo will once again helm the movie for the Peacock streaming service. There is no other details about it except that the announcement came up in a press release for the streaming site about upcoming projects.

Celebrated action auteur John Woo returns to reimagine and direct his own classic

That’s all there is right now and I’m sure there’ll be backlash from fans even though Woo is in the director’s chair.

The original film starred Chow Yun-Fat, Danny Lee, and Sally Yeh in a story of:

an assassin who accidentally damages the eyes of a singer. The two fall in love, and he decides to perform one last hit in order to pay for a corneal transplant to prevent her from going blind.

I’m actually not as opposed to remakes or reboots like some people are and in many instances, I preferred the updated film more to the original. If it’s done well and with care then I don’t mind. Woo is also directing it so it’s not like it’ll be someone else taking over his baby. The fact that it’s for Peacock shouldn’t deter fans either as many high profile flicks are skipping theaters for a home digital premiere. It will be interesting to see who they get for the cast but the action set pieces are in more than capable hands.

Stay tuned and keep it locked and loaded for future details to drop as we are your destination for everything action and in the meantime, watch a clip from the blood soaked classic below!