Nicolas Winding Refn is not someone that is willing to bite his tongue when talking about the current state of film and TV. When he’s not talking about his own films, you’re likely going to find him pronouncing the end of traditional storytelling or the standard three-act film structure. And recently, with “Too Old to Die Young,” Refn put his money where his mouth is and created a project that showcases what he thinks could be the next evolution of storytelling, in a streaming world. And according to Variety, he’s about to do it again with “Maniac Cop.”
That’s right, apparently Refn has signed on to direct a new series for HBO based on the cult film franchise, “Maniac Cop.” The series will follow a variety of points of view, from police officers to criminals and everything in between, as a city must figure out the identity of a mysterious cop that is murdering folks. Is it just your typical police officer gone bad? Or perhaps something more supernatural? Refn will develop the series with screenwriter John Hyams.
“I’ve always been a devoted admirer of John Hyams,” said Refn. “We’ve been talking about a re-imagining of the ‘Maniac Cop’ films for a number of years, but as we continued to work on the material, we found ourselves wanting to explore the world we were creating in greater depth.”
He continued, “Turning ‘Maniac Cop’ into a series will allow us to realize our wildest ambitions and to reach an enormous audience though partners HBO and Canal Plus. This show will be an unadulterated, action-packed horror odyssey. Given the current state of the world, though, ‘Maniac Cop’ will also be a strong commentary on the decline of civilization.”
While the idea of any new project from Nicolas Winding Refn is enough to get film fans excited, the fact that he’s going back to serialized TV storytelling, especially after his recent series “Too Old to Die Young,” could make this something truly special.
No word on when this might hit HBO, but “Maniac Cop” has instantly turned into one of our most anticipated projects of the next couple of years.