Following the announcement of Solara, Beijing and Hong Kong-based Extraordinary Entertainment Limited are now planting their feet in with John Fusco for new organized crime drama, The Successor.
Seen through the eyes of a young protagonist, the story follows his journey into the underworld after his kingpin father is murdered in a gangland shootout. Starting as a complete outsider, the successor must decide whether to turn away and disown his father, or to pursue the killers and claim his place in the brutal and unforgiving world of the Triads.
The last several years had seen Fusco solidify his relationship with Netflix as the creator of two-season drama, Marco Polo, and its origin spin-off, One Hundred Eyes starring Tom Wu, as well as Yuen Woo-Ping’s Crouching Tiger; Hideen Dragon: Sword Of Destiny, and John Lee Hancock’s The Highwaymen.
Fusco will exec produce The Successor with Extraordinary’s Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Bodies At Rest) and Daljit “DJ” Parmar who launched the company during Cannes last year.
The company is currently planning sci-fi epic, Solara, one in a series of ten-to-fifty million dollar feature films spanning multiple genres.
Colin Vaines will serve as exec producer on The Successor. Deadline’s Peter White reported the news on Tuesday.
“I’ve been wanting to collaborate with Renny since his breakout days as one of the most dynamic action directors in our business. It’s fitting that our shared appreciation for China and big, action-driven stories that work on an international level have finally brought us together as a team,” said Fusco. “The Successor not only gives us the opportunity to explore the powerful and dangerous family hierarchy of the Triad crime syndicate, it gives us a story world that it is deep and rich in character drama. It’s the kind of realistic, hard-hitting series with the potential to run multiple seasons.”
“We are building a slate of leading global premium scripted series with an Asian focus and The Successor is the perfect project to lead the way,” said Parmar. “John Fusco is one of Hollywood’s foremost showrunners, whose gritty writing style masterfully captures this dark underworld. Together our team is primed to deliver a gripping crime saga that will appeal to global audiences.”
“My dream has always been to explore the meaning of honor, family and power, in the violent world of organized crime, like my favorite movies The Godfather and Scarface did,” added Harlin. “I’ve known and admired John Fusco for most of my career and finally we have found a story that gives us a chance to work together and share our passion for raw and visceral storytelling.”