Fourteen years have passed since it was first announced that Oldboy director Park Chan-wook would be directing an ultra-violent Western thriller with a screenplay by S. Craig Zahler – who, in the years since that announcement, has become a director himself, bringing us the likes of Bone Tomahawk, Brawl in Cell Block 99, and Dragged Across Concrete. Originally titled The Brigands of Rattleborge but now known as The Brigands of Rattlecreek, that project is now, finally, heading toward production, and Deadline reports that Warner Bros’ new label Clockwork is in exclusive negotiations for the North American rights to the movie. It’s said that they’ll be paying an amount somewhere in the mid-teen millions for the rights.
It was recently announced that Matthew McConaughey (True Detective), Austin Butler (Elvis), Pedro Pascal (The Fantastic Four: First Steps), and Tang Wei (Lust, Caution) have signed on to star in the film, which is expected to go into production in the first quarter of 2027. We’ve heard that the budget will be upwards of $60 million.
What is The Brigands of Rattlecreek about?
Zahler’s script topped the Black List in 2006. Chan-wook has done his own revisions to the script as he gears up to the bring the story to the screen.
Deadline reports that the movie will follow a sheriff and a doctor who seek revenge against a group of bandits who use the cover of a torrential thunderstorm to rob and terrorize the occupants of a small town. The story will alight on themes central to Park’s oeuvre of vengeance, retribution, the consequences of violence and the power of memory and family, but this time in the American West.
The Brigands of Rattlecreek is being produced by Bradley Fischer of Wise Owl and Park for Moho Film. Back Jisun for Moho Film, Mike Medavoy, and Georgia Kacandes serve as executive producers.
This one has been a very long time coming, but it’s good to see that it didn’t completely fall apart along the way and that it’s finally going to happen with Park Chan-wook at the helm.
Are you interested in The Brigands of Rattlecreek? Share your thoughts on this Park Chan-wook / S. Craig Zahler / Clockwork project by leaving a comment below.
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