Two men want the same serial killer, but for completely different reasons. One represents the law. The other runs a criminal organization and wants revenge. They need each other's resources, even though they would ordinarily be enemies.
It is an excellent premise for a violent crime thriller, and Paramount Pictures is preparing to revisit it with an unusually interesting group of filmmakers and performers.
James Wan is attached to direct a new version of The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil. Don Lee, also known as Ma Dong-seok, is expected to reprise the gangster he played in the original Korean film.
Keanu Reeves is now in negotiations to join him, according to reporting published by The Hollywood Reporter, TheWrap and Variety on October 20 and 21, 2026.
The distinction matters: Reeves is not yet officially confirmed as a cast member, and no public announcement identifies the character he would play.
Still, the potential combination of Reeves, Lee and Wan is enough to make this an intriguing project, particularly for audiences interested in contemporary action cinema.
The original film was built around an impossible alliance
Released in 2019 and directed by Lee Won-tae, The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil brought together three characters whose interests could never comfortably coexist.
Don Lee played Jang Dong-su, a powerful gangster who survives an attack by a serial killer. The assault threatens his reputation, giving him a personal reason to find the attacker.
Kim Moo-yul portrayed detective Jung Tae-seok, whose investigation leads toward the same murderer. The detective wants an arrest and a criminal conviction. The gangster wants to settle the matter through revenge.
They agree to cooperate, but that partnership remains unstable because neither man has forgotten what the other represents.
Kim Sung-kyu played the serial killer whose actions bring the two men together.
The original film found considerable dramatic tension in its central contradiction. Catching the murderer might temporarily satisfy the ambitions of both protagonists, but their competing goals made it difficult to imagine a peaceful conclusion.
Presented during the Midnight Screenings program at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, the movie gained international attention through its combination of physical action, criminal intrigue and uncomfortable alliances.
It already works as a complete thriller. The Hollywood adaptation will therefore need something more substantial than a change of language to justify another version.
Don Lee provides a direct connection to the Korean film
One of the remake's most distinctive choices is the decision to bring back the original gangster.
Don Lee is not simply producing the new film or making a cameo appearance. He is attached to reprise Jang Dong-su, the character he played in the 2019 production.
That continuity could help preserve an important part of the original's appeal.
Lee's performances frequently rely on an unusual contrast between imposing physical strength and comparatively restrained behavior. His characters can be intimidating without needing elaborate demonstrations of violence.
The original thriller made excellent use of that presence. Jang was accustomed to exercising authority through fear, which made his vulnerability after the serial killer's attack especially significant.
Since 2019, Lee has continued to strengthen his international profile. He appeared in Marvel's Eternals and has remained central to the successful Korean action franchise The Roundup.
His participation gives Paramount a recognizable action star while maintaining a meaningful connection to the film it is adapting.
The question is how the remake will handle the character's identity and circumstances.
The original story depended partly on its Korean criminal setting. Changing the cultural and geographical environment could influence the relationships among the police, gang organizations and the murderer.
Those details have not yet been announced, so the exact nature of the adaptation remains uncertain.
Keanu Reeves is an obvious attraction, but his role is unknown
It is easy to imagine why Reeves would be considered for a film like this.
His career has repeatedly returned to characters whose apparent restraint conceals extraordinary capabilities. The Matrix established his credentials in ambitious action choreography, while the John Wick franchise turned him into one of the genre's defining contemporary performers.
A thriller centered on an uneasy partnership would provide an opportunity to explore a different kind of action relationship, particularly opposite Don Lee.
But there is an important limitation to the available information.
Although the original story features a detective opposite Lee's gangster, Reeves has not been officially assigned that detective role in the new version.
He could ultimately play that character. He could also be attached to a different interpretation of the story. Until Paramount or the filmmakers clarify the casting, assigning him a specific identity would be speculation.
What can be considered is the potential screen dynamic.
Reeves is strongly associated with meticulously choreographed action, particularly through his collaboration with Chad Stahelski on John Wick.
Lee brings a different physical presence, making individual blows and close-range confrontations appear exceptionally powerful.
Putting those approaches together could create a memorable combination. But that remains a possibility rather than a demonstrated feature of the unfilmed production.
James Wan has the right experience for a dangerous partnership
Wan's involvement brings another set of expectations.
The filmmaker established his reputation with Saw before creating Insidious and developing The Conjuring into one of modern horror cinema's most recognizable franchises.
He subsequently demonstrated his ability to handle large-scale action with Furious 7 and Aquaman.
The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil would mark his first feature as director since 2023's Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
The project offers a different balance of cinematic elements from a superhero blockbuster.
Its central conflict is human rather than supernatural, but suspense remains essential. The killer must be dangerous enough to justify cooperation between two enemies, while the detective and gangster must remain suspicious of each other throughout their partnership.
Wan has considerable experience controlling what audiences know and when they discover it. Horror filmmaking often depends on precisely that relationship between anticipation, space and sudden danger.
A serial-killer thriller could benefit from those skills without requiring any supernatural elements.
However, no footage or detailed visual presentation of the remake has been released.
It would be premature to describe the film as an outright horror production or promise that it will reproduce the style of Saw or The Conjuring. The original belongs primarily to the crime-action thriller genre.
The script has passed through several experienced writers
Paramount's project has been in development for years, with work dating back to the period following the original film's 2019 release.
Eric Pearson wrote the latest version of the screenplay. His recent credits include Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
The new draft builds on earlier work by Shay Hatten and Brian Helgeland.
Hatten's experience includes the John Wick franchise, making his involvement particularly relevant to a film that might feature Reeves.
Helgeland is associated with projects including L.A. Confidential and brings a background in crime-oriented storytelling.
These credits help explain the project's intended positioning, but they do not reveal which elements of each script remain in the final version.
The production also has an extensive group of established industry figures.
Wan is producing with Michael Clear and Jason Blum through Blumhouse Atomic Monster. Don Lee participates through Big Punch Global.
Sylvester Stallone and D. Matt Geller are producing through Balboa Productions. Chris S. Lee and Lorenzo di Bonaventura are also among the announced producers.
This is a substantial team for a film that originated as a relatively contained Korean crime thriller.
The number of experienced producers may help support a larger production, but it does not establish how much the story's scope or budget will change.
Remaking the original creates a creative challenge
A remake of a poorly executed film can argue that its story deserves another chance. The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil faces a more complicated situation because the original already succeeds at its central objective.
Its premise is immediately understandable, its central performances are distinctive, and its conflict creates tension without requiring excessive narrative explanation.
That makes the creative challenge particularly interesting.
Wan must find a reason for audiences to revisit the story, whether through a different visual approach, a new cultural context or a revised relationship between the protagonists.
Keeping Don Lee is a promising choice because it preserves part of what made the earlier version work.
Potentially adding Keanu Reeves could create a new attraction, but star power alone does not automatically improve a narrative built around competing motives.
The essential dramatic conflict must remain convincing. The detective needs the gangster's resources, while the gangster needs access to the investigation. Their mutual dependence should not erase their opposing interests.
That uncomfortable arrangement is more important than simply increasing the number or intensity of action sequences.
It also raises the question that makes the story distinctive: once the killer is captured, what reason do these two enemies have to remain allies?
A release date has not been announced
As of October 22, 2026, Paramount has not announced an official release date for the new The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil.
Wan is attached to direct, Don Lee is associated with the production as its returning gangster, and Reeves is reportedly negotiating to join.
The film's full supporting cast, final screenplay details and specific shooting schedule have not been established in the principal announcements reviewed for this report.
No official trailer or first-look image from the remake has been released. Available promotional images largely belong to Lee Won-tae's 2019 film.
The next significant development will be confirmation of Reeves' involvement and, if negotiations succeed, the role he will play.
For now, Paramount has assembled the outline of a compelling modern crime thriller: a respected Korean action star returning to a familiar part, a Hollywood director with extensive suspense experience and the possibility of one of the world's most recognizable action actors joining them.
Whether that combination can produce a film as tense as its Korean predecessor remains the unanswered question.
