After a false start, some bad blood and a studio shift, the mixed martial arts film WARRIOR is back in the cage and preparing to pummel. Director Gavin O’Connor has been patiently waiting for New Line to release his cop drama PRIDE AND GLORY (featuring Ed Norton and Colin Farrell), which will finally hit screens in October, so he could get that project punching.
Now, New Line has relinquished its chokehold on WARRIOR, and Lionsgate has stepped into the ring with the mop. The movie is set in the sport where combatants pound/squeeze the fluids/consciousness from each other for acclaim/prizes, and follows “two estranged brothers on a collision course to fight in a tournament for the heavyweight championship.” O’Connor sees the project as a potential sequel, and actual battler Randy Couture will play himself.