Legendary filmmaker Michael Mann hasn’t helmed a feature film since 2015, when he directed “Blackhat.” However, it looks like the director has lined up his next project, and it’s going to take him back to what he knows best, making crime films like “Heat,” “Manhunter,” and “Thief.”
According to a report by Deadline, Mann has purchased the film and TV rights to an upcoming book about infamous criminal Paul Le Roux. For those that don’t know, Le Roux has been making the news lately as more information has come out about his criminal activities linked to Iran, North Korea, and various terrorist groups. He is linked to drug production and distribution, arms trade, murder for hire, and much more. The future film will be based on the upcoming novel by Elaine Shannon, who has spent the last four years researching Le Roux and his criminal world.
This isn’t the first time that Mann has teamed up with Shannon for a project. In 1990, Mann produced the TV mini-series titled “Drug Wars: The Camarena Story,” which was based on the book “Desperados” by Shannon.
The Le Roux project is something that the filmmaker has been following intently, even going so far as to attend recent court hearings. “Elaine Shannon’s book,” Mann said, “took me into the actual people and places, the language and attitudes as powerfully as great fiction. Deeply and vividly, it illuminates the mind of Le Roux and the dark frontier of transnational crime.”
It’s unknown what exactly Mann wants to do with the rights. Obviously, a feature film would be amazing, but there’s still an option for the director to explore this subject matter in the form of another mini-series.
No matter what Mann has planned, there’s no release date, as of yet. This project is very much still in the early stages of development. However, Elaine Shannon’s book about Le Roux should be seeing publication soon.