Chad Stahelski, director of the "John Wick" series, which is full of explosive "gun-fu" action, has announced that he will produce an English remake of the Indian film "Kill." Variety reports.
 |
| Image Credit: Lionsgate |
The protagonist of the Indian version is Amrit, a member of the Army Special Forces. After learning that his girlfriend Tulika has been forced to marry another man, he boards a train to New Delhi to ruin the arranged marriage and reunite with his beloved. However, Amrit's journey takes a turn when a group of knife-wielding bandits start threatening innocent passengers on the way. He confronts the bandits himself and tries to save the people around him. The original version was directed by Nikhil Nagesh Bhatt. For the remake, Stahelski and the director's production company 87Eleven Entertainment will team up with Lionsgate, with 87Eleven's Jason Spitz and Alex Young also serving as producers.
Variety's review of Kill called it "an intense Hindi-language martial arts film, a shocking and raw action showcase with a death toll comparable to John Wick," so Stahelski seems perfectly suited to lead the remake. The Indian version is set for a US release on July 4, 2024, marking the first time a mainstream Hindi film has partnered with a Hollywood studio for a theatrical release in North America and the UK. It will reportedly be released in Japan in 2025 by Shochiku.
"Kill is one of the most dynamic, wild, and creative action movies I've seen in a while. Nikhil delivers relentless action scenes that need to be seen by the widest audience possible. We're excited to develop the English version and it's a big mission, but we look forward to working with Nikhil, Karan (Johar), Apoorva (Mehta), Guneet (Monga Kapoor) and Achin (Jain) to achieve it," Stahelski said in a statement. In addition to director Bhatt, he listed the producers who worked on the Indian version.
The Indian producers said, "When we made Kill with Nikhil Nagesh Bhatt, we dreamed of global love. When we saw people screaming 'Kill! Kill! Kill!' in North American cinema, it felt like that vision had become a reality." They added, "It's unprecedented for something like this (a remake) to be announced before the release of the original film, so it's a huge win for Indian cinema and a true honor." Stahelski will begin filming the reboot of "Highlander," starring Henry Cavill, in Scotland in January 2025. He is also looking forward to a live-action version of the game "Ghost of Tsushima," so it looks like he will continue to be busy.