Nicolas Winding Refn, director of The Neon Demon and the upcoming Her Private Hell, has found his next project in Maniac Cop.
Hollywood tried reviving this property back in 2016, only for it to morph into a TV show a few years later with Refn as an executive producer. There’s been no word on the show since 2023, but Refn’s now got the free time to get behind the director’s chair (and probably write, since he does with most of his movies). Mubi will foot the bill and handle distribution in North America in other territories. After the box office and awards success of The Substance—and probably Refn’s own pedigree—the studio’s said to be all in on giving this a theatrical release.
The original Maniac Cop, directed by Will Lustig, released in 1988 and starred Robert Z’Dar as an ex-cop back from the dead and killing the brothers in arms who framed him. Despite a cast that also included Bruce Campbell, Richard Roundtree, and Tom Atkins, it didn’t light the world on fire, but it did get two direct-to-video sequels. As far this new one’s concerned, Mubi founder/CEO Efe Cakarel said it’s “not a remake in Nicolas’ hands. It’s a resurrection…and he is exactly the filmmaker to reawaken something this iconic.”
In a statement, Refn himself said the Maniac Cop has always appealed to him, and the current cultural climate “provokes an immediate, uneasy reaction. […] The time has come to unveil a radical new vision where there is no protection, no safety net, only mayhem.” We’ll have more on the new Maniac Cop as production starts in January 2027.
[via Deadline]
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