John Wick’s Chad Stahelski and Derek Kolstad reunite to remake Korean action classic The Man from Nowhere

Chad Stahelski and Derek Kolstad took a lot of inspiration from Korean action movies when it came to crafting their smash-hit John Wick franchise, and now the duo are heading back to the genre that inspired them as Deadline is reporting that they are reuniting to remake Lee Jeong-Beom’s 2010 South Korean action-thriller The Man from Nowhere.

The original Man From Nowhere followed the story of a pawnshop owner with a military past, Cha Tae-sik, as he exacted brutal punishment on a drug ring that kidnapped a little girl who he considered to be his only friend. Think of it as Taken, but on steroids.  The film was the highest-grossing film in Korea that year, making about $43 million but didn’t get too much attention in western markets. Interestingly enough, an English-language remake was written for Dimension Films back in 2012, but the project fell through and so now New Line has secured the rights for this remake.

Kolstad has reportedly already completed his script for the remake with Stahelski coming on board with him as a producer, though with no intention to actually direct this film due to his already packed schedule. The pair are reportedly looking at different directors in what could no doubt be an exciting project for many to work on. The story is definitely a perfect match for Stahelski and Kolstad, and even without Stahelski directing, if they can still ensure the same attention to detail is given to stylistic action as the original film with an extra dose of sheen and polish is thrown on top, then it is definitely a movie that could delight audiences.

The project doesn’t have any release date as of yet, but once a director is in place, efforts will move towards finding an actor who can bring this action spectacle to life. Who would you pick to pull off this kind of hyper-kinetic action to the big screen?

Last Updated: August 6, 2020