Dave Jeremy Kay reports at Screen Daily that D.J. Caruso’s new novel adaptation, The Killer’s Game, will commence principal photography in December. Actress Morena Baccarin (Deadpool, Deadpool 2) and actor Kris Wu (xXx: Return Of Xander Cage, Valerian) are both up for roles joining Ice Cube (Ride Along, Ride Along 2) and lead actor Dave Bautista (Blade Runner 2049).
Ice Cube is reportedly negotiating to star opposite actor Dave Bautista in D.J. Caruso’s upcoming adaptation of Jay Bonansinga’s 1997 novel, Killer’s Game. The project, according to Mike Fleming Jr. at Deadline, marks the latest development following 20 years of languishing between hands of studios and directors who’ve passed it up, including Jason Statham.
Remember last February when Jason Statham was set to star in D.J. Caruso’s adaptation of Jay Bonansinga’s 1997 novel, Killer’s Game? Well, that’s over and done, and as long as it takes for proper developments to cook with feature films, we now have word from Jeff Sneider at Collider that Dave Bautista (Hotel Artemis, Blade Runner 2049) is taking a stab at the pic.
Paramount Pictures
D.J. Caruso is returning to direct the butt-kicking hell out of a fourth installment to the xXx franchise according to multiple trade sources running online. The news comes in addition with the word that The H Collective and Vin Diesel’s One Race Films have acquired the rights to the franchise with Diesel expected to star once more as well as produce.
Diesel launched the xXx franchise next to the growth of Universal Pictures’s The Fast And The Furious whose director, Rob Cohen, helmed the inaugural 2002 film from Columbia Pictures. Ice Cube would replace the actor for its 2005 sequel from Lee Tamahori twelve years before Diesel would return to the role last year headlining with a sprawling cast of heavy hitters that additionally featured Donnie Yen, Tony Jaa, Ruby Rose and Michael Bisping to name a few, as well as a cameo by Cube himself for a Paramount release.
“During my time at Paramount I was lucky to be involved in the development and distribution of xXx: Return of Xander Cage.” says H Collective CEO Nic Crawley in a statement. “The response from the Chinese box office was unprecedented. Bringing the next installment of the xXx franchise to The H Collective complements our diversified slate and mission to produce content for a global audience.”
The deal also allows Revolution Studios to retain its rights to the first three films.
The H Collective is partnering with Jackie Chan’s Sparkle Roll Media, HCH Media, Dadi Cinema, and Angeleno Studio to finance the fourth installment which is expected to go before cameras in December. Joe Roth and Jeff Kirschenbaum are also producing along with One Race’s Samantha Vincent, and The H Collective.
Diesel is currently preparing for the summer start of production for Valiant Comics adaptation, Bloodshot while Caruso’s own recent headline activity saw him circle projects including G.I. Joe 3 and Jason Statham thriller, Killer’s Game.
THRILLED to finally reveal that we've acquired the rights to the xXx franchise! Prepare for @VinDiesel to blast back onto your screens as Xander Cage!!!A post shared by The H Collective (@thcfilm) on Apr 17, 2018 at 5:33pm PDT
You can always count on news of a Jason Statham action thriller on the rise to rouse the fanboy feels and of course The Meg is first on the menu this August with a Fast saga spin-off filming next year with Dwayne Johnson. Time will tell what else arises in the big screen prospects for the knife-chucking, brass knuckle-wielding, football deflating Expendable apart from an update from Borys Kit at The Hollywood Reporter announcing Killer’s Game from STX.
The film, based on Jay Bonansinga’s 1997 novel, will center on a principled, veteran assassin who learns he is dying. Thinking his days are numbered, he stakes a six-million dollar prize on his own life, only to realize that he’s been misdiagnosed and is still in perfect health, and is now forced into a breakneck fight for survival against hungry gamesmen out for blood and a six-figure boost.
After more than 20 years, xXx: The Return Of Xander Cage helmer D.J. Caruso is in talks to direct for Statham potentially to star, and with STX Films negotiating to finance as well as distribute. Names such as Michael Keaton and Wesley Snipes had been in talks to star over the years as the project landed at several studios and in the hands of numerous directors; Simon Kinberg even penned a draft long before he became known for his involvement in the X-Men cinematic universe efforts at Fox.
Steve Richards of Endurance Media and Andrew Lazar of Mad Chance are producing the film with production start and release dates pending among other casting additions. The film may also add to the currently growing list of projects in Statham’s roster, sans the previously-hyped Tony Jaa co-headliner, High Value Target, which currently remains in the air.
— Return Of XanderCage (@XXXReturnOfCage) July 19, 2016
There isn’t much news happening regarding Paramount’s G.I. Joe 3, even though it has already swapped a few hands between at least two directors, namely Jon M. Chu who took the reigns for the 2013 sequel, and Martin Campbell as of last November. Since then, news moved forward with Eagle Eye and I Am Number Four helmer D.J. Caruso who is now apparently in talks to direct.
Depending on whether or not you enjoyed either of Caruso‘s films mentioned above, the director definitely has the chops to continue the evolved vision from both films, adding sci-fi with that extra touch of stellar action and hi-tech espionage to boot that made the second film so enjoyable to watch. Jonathan Lemkin is writing the script which will center around actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson‘s reprisal as classic Joe character, Roadblock, with John Wick co-star Adrienne Palicki returning as Lady Jaye among our title heroes expected to reappear.
As for whether or not those rumors about actor Channing Tatum’s possible return are true remain to be seen, although considering he’ll be too busy right now working on his Cajun poker face for the title role of 20th Century Fox’s Gambit project, it’s probably unlikely. Nonetheless, I wouldn’t say no to being completely surprised in due time. Alas, more to come!
H/T: Deadline