Omar Sy to star in John Woo’s remake of ‘The Killer’

The iconic action filmmaker John Woo has cast the lead star for the remake of his own 1989 classic, The Killer, choosing Omar Sy to lead his new take on the movie.

Forging a deal to remake the movie with the streaming service Peacock in May, it’s thought that Woo’s new film will follow a similar track to his original film with a new flair that is being kept under wraps for the time being. The Hong Kong filmmaker will be writing his remake alongside 10 Cloverfield Lane’s Matthew Stuecken and Josh Campbell, Welcome To The Punch’s Eran Creevy and L.A. Confidential’s Brian Helgeland.

The original film, which starred Chow Yun-Fat, told the story of a Hong Kong hitman who accidentally blinds an innocent woman whilst he is on the job and becomes subsequently fixated on helping her get medical treatment, despite being in the middle of a dangerous mission.

The success of the original film in 1989 led Woo to a successful Hollywood career, leading him on to helm such projects as Face/Off with John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, as well as Mission: Impossible 2 with Tom Cruise and Brendan Gleeson.

Meanwhile, Omar Sy has recently taken to Hollywood cinema after quickly flourishing in the French film industry. Appearing in the likes of X-Men: Days of Future Past, Jurassic World, Transformers: The Last Knight and The Call of the Wild, Sy has become a supporting actor who is more than capable of taking on leading roles.

Take a look at the trailer for the original 1989 version of The Killer, below, to whet your appetite for Woo’s forthcoming remake.

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