Deadline.com reports that something like a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo is in the works. Dragon Eyes is described as a modern day retelling of Kurosawa’s story, a mixed martial arts movie about a mysterious man “who comes from an impoverished part of New Orleans to unite two warring gangs against the corrupt lawmen who’ve been using them”. Based on this short description alone, some liberties have apparently been taken with the source material, and I wonder if Kurosawa’s name isn’t simply being used to create hype.
In any case, the film is being produced by Joel Silver, whose most recent production credits include Sherlock Holmes, The Book of Eli, V For Vendetta and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. He was also the produced behind The Matrix trilogy, as well as a whole lot of other action films in the 1980s and 90s. The script is reportedly being written by Tim Tori, a less known figure (at least to me), who so far has two films under his belt as a screenwriter, both coming out later this year.
Dragon Eyes will be starring the former kickboxing and mixed martial arts champion Cung Le, who has appeared in a few action films in recent years, including last year’s science fiction horror film Pandorum.
Shooting will commence in October, and they are aiming for a 2012 release.
