Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive), the man behind one of the finest films of last year, is in talks with DreamWorks to direct Button Man, an adaptation of the graphic novel, Button Man: The Killing Game, by John Wagner and Arthur Ranson, the former of whom also created Judge Dredd.
After deservedly taking the Best Director award at Cannes for Drive last year, Winding Refn has returned to work with Ryan Gosling on Only God Forgives, a project everyone is already talking about, which promises to be potentially even more stylistically violent than Drive.
Adding to that Button Man: The Killing Game sounds pretty damn awesome:
“The action revolves around Harry Exton, a hired gun who’s offered a fortune to take part in a game organized by bored millionaires that sets trained killers against one another in a fight to the death. The fat cats bet on the proceedings, and when Exton gets disgusted and opts out, his only exit strategy might be to off the millionaires funding the competition.”
Roger Kass and Josh Braun, who produced A History of Violence together, will produce alongside Michael De Luca (American History X, The Social Network).
Deadline report that the deal isn’t done yet, but it does sound like a bit of a match made in heaven, and the material would definitely be something we’d all love to see Winding Refn at the helm of.
(With the help of Wikipedia) Button Man ran for four series – The Killing Game, The Confession of Harry Exton, Killer Killer, and The Hitman’s Daughter – so though it is of course very much still early days, the possibility for sequels would not be entirely out of the realms of possibility. DreamWorks don’t currently have many franchises in their roster, and developing a new one with Winding Refn must sound very appealing.
The director is of course set to re-team with Gosling once more after Only God Forgives for their Logan’s Run remake, but with Gosling being much sought-after himself, Button Man: The Killing Game sounds like it would be a brilliant project for Winding Refn to helm before getting back on board with Gosling again. More as we get it.
And just because the film is nothing short of a masterpiece (and just because I can), here’s the Drive trailer for your viewing pleasure.
[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWX34ShfcsE’]
