Last December, we heard that producers Adi Shankar and Spencer Silna had picked up English-language rights to Kim Ji-woon’s cult thriller I Saw The Devil, with intentions to mount an American redo, and now that project is coming together with director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett, the wildly talented duo behind You’re Next and The Guest.
The pair, whose past efforts have earned them a significant fan following, will both write and direct the remake, and reports indicate that they’ve been quietly working on the project for some time. Wingard has started meeting with actors, while Barrett is apparently deep into scripting.
Keith Calder, who is producing the project with Snoot Entertainment, confirmed the news via Twitter:
@corinhardy Yeah. Same team from YOU’RE NEXT and THE GUEST.
— Keith Calder (@keithcalder) September 15, 2014
It’s expected that the original film’s basic premise will remain intact. In the twisted thriller, an elite special agent (Lee Byung-hun) goes on the warpath after his pregnant fiancé is murdered by an evil maniac (Choi Min-sik). Desperate for revenge, the agent lures the killer into a violent game of cat-and-mouse. However, as he crosses all sorts of lines to take down his target, it becomes clear that, to catch a monster, the agent may have to become one himself.
Wingard and Barrett have delivered two phenomenal, stylish and deliciously twisted thrillers in a row, and their skillset makes me think they’ll be perfect for I Saw the Devil. Though the original film is brilliant and definitely worth seeing as soon as humanly possible if you haven’t already, this is one remake that I’m finding myself very excited for.