Will Yun Lee Turns Martial Arts Gangster For Feature-Length Novel Adaptation, HATCHET MEN
Will Yun Lee (Torque, Elektra, The Wolverine, Falling Water) is reportedly set to star as the notorious crime boss, Little Pete, as well as produce in the forthcoming adaptation of Richard H. Dillon’s 2012 novel, Hatchet Men: The Story of the Tong Wars in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Australian scribe Morgan Duncan and producer Michael Thomas (The 33) are adapting the script which will set the tone for Lee to apply his exponential Tae Kwon Do training for the film’s action.
The phrase itself, “Hatchet Men”, takes its cues from the period centric to the book – between the late 1880s and early 1920s, where hatchet-wielding killers would silence the rivals of their bosses amid the gang upheaval in San Francisco’s Chinatown at the time. Crime ran rampant with the availability of opium, slave girls, gang violence and corrupt politicians at the beckoncall of their mob cohorts, and at the center of it all was the infamous and charasmatic Little Pete who eventually used his robust skills in fighting and English-speaking to rise to power and privilege.
“I’ve always gravitated towards the rich untold stories of Asians in America,” says Lee, per the exclusive report at Deadline. “Finding a world where you can bring the kinetic energy of The Raid and the texture of Boardwalk Empire is an exciting project to be a part of.”
Also producing are Mark Holder and Christine Holder for Zero Gravity.