James Wan reportedly to remake Korean thriller The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil for Paramount

What has been reported

It has been reported that director James Wan will helm an English-language remake of the 2019 Korean crime-action hit The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil for Paramount Pictures. According to coverage in The Hollywood Reporter, Ma Dong-seok (Don Lee; 马东锡) is expected to return to the project to reprise his original role as the feared gangster, and he will reportedly serve as a producer alongside Hollywood veteran Sylvester Stallone.

Creative team and stakes

Reportedly the screenplay will be adapted by Shay Hatten — known for the John Wick franchise entries — from an initial draft by Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential). Wan is said to be producing through his own company as well as directing; for Wan this would be his first theatrical directorial release since 2023’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Why does this matter? The talent attached — a Korean star returning, a blockbuster director, and a marquee American producer — signals that Paramount is aiming for a global, action-forward take rather than a modest studio remake.

Original film and broader context

The original The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil premiered in Cannes’ Midnight Screening in 2019 and earned acclaim for its raw action and moral ambiguity: a policeman and a crime boss form an uneasy alliance to hunt a serial killer, only for motives and loyalties to shift in brutal ways. On China’s Douban the film has 301,573 ratings and a composite score of 7.8, underscoring its regional popularity. The remake continues a recent trend of Hollywood mining East Asian hits for global franchises — a commercial strategy that unfolds against a patchwork of market access rules and shifting geopolitical tensions that can affect distribution and box office prospects across Asia.