The Furious has been christened this year’s breakout action film by both critics and audiences. Now, director Kenji Tanigaki is setting his sights on his next original action feature.
Tanigaki will direct The Reckoner, which will be written by John Wick scribe Derek Kolstad and has Peter Dinklage attached to star, with plot details being kept under wraps. Lionsgate, which acquired The Furious out of last year’s Toronto Film Festival, has closed a deal for The Reckoner, with Anthony and Joe Russo’s AGBO set to produce.
Kolstad and Dinklage are also set to produce the feature, alongside AGBO’s Angela Russo-Otstot, Michael Disco and Kassee Whiting and David Ginsberg under his and Dinklage’s Estuary Films banner. The Russos will executive produce. James Myers and Pavan Kalidindi will oversee for Lionsgate.
The Reckoner marks the latest collaboration between Lionsgate and AGBO, which are behind the upcoming John Rambo movie from director Jalmari Helander and starring Noah Centineo.
“One of the most rewarding parts of what we do is discovering filmmakers with distinctive voices, bringing their work to wider theatrical audiences and partnering with them as they take on projects of greater scale and ambition,” said Lionsgate Motion Picture Group president Erin Westerman. “That’s exactly what excites us about Kenji Tanigaki. The Furious showcases a singular filmmaking talent, and we’re thrilled to reunite with our friends at AGBO to bring his bold vision for The Reckoner to audiences worldwide.”
Russo-Otstot, AGBO’s chief creative officer, added, “Derek Kolstad and Peter Dinklage came to us with a world we hadn’t encountered before, original, action-packed and with genuine soul. The moment we saw what Kenji Tanigaki did with The Furious, his take on action so unique and engaging we knew immediately he was the only director who could take this vision and bring it to life. We couldn’t be more thrilled to be bringing this remarkable collection of talent together with Lionsgate, whose commitment to bold, character-driven filmmaking makes them the perfect partner for this project.” In addition to Rambo, ABGO’s upcoming slate includes Netflix’s The Whisper Man, Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday and the third Extraction film.
The Furious follows Wang Wei (Xie Miao), whose daughter is kidnapped by a criminal network. Along with a journalist, Navin (Joe Taslim), whose wife has mysteriously disappeared, Wei sets out on a rampage to find his daughter. The film grossed over $6 million at the domestic box office and over $31 million globally. (Lionsgate had worldwide rights save for mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao.)
Tanigaki — who, in addition to his directing work, is an award-winning stunt and fight coordinator and choreographer— is repped by Gersh and XYZ. Dinklage is currently filming the second season of FX’s acclaimed Alien: Earth. He is repped by CAA and Jackoway Austen. Kolstad, repped by UTA, Circle Management + Production, and Behr Abramson, most recently wrote and produced the Bob Odenkirk starrers Normal and Nobody 2.
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