An English remake of South Korean crime thriller, The Merciless is officially on the way. As Screen’s Liz Shackleton notes, CJ Entertainment continued to rack up remake deals on Saturday, now with the mutlt-award winning Byun Sung-Hun pic front and center.
France-based Pathé Films and Vendôme Group will join CJ to retell the saga of a crimeboss in prison looking to ascend his station in the criminal underworld, and his burgeoning friendship with a seeming young up-and-comer. Actors Sol Kyung-gu and Im Si-wan starred in the original.
Pathé, who will stake the film’s release in France and handle international sales rights outside of Korea, will co-finance with CJ. Vendôme’s Philippe Rousselet and co-CEO Fabrice Gianfermi will produce with CJ’s Francis Chung and Pathé’s Ardavan Safaee, and with CJ head of international Jerry Ko exec producing. (SCREEN)