For quite a while now, Nicolas Winding Refn has been talking about "The Avenging Silence," a Tokyo-set movie that would feature a protagonist not unlike the ones played by Mads Mikkelsen in "Valhalla Rising" and Ryan Gosling in "Drive" — a stoic, silent, singularly driven character. And while he has been tight-lipped about any plot details, last summer he revealed that the script was in the works, and added, "I would love to do like a spy movie, something like that." So bear in that mind with this latest development.
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Deadline reports that writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade — James Bond franchise veterans who have put their pen to six 007 movies including "Casino Royale," "Quantum Of Solace," "Skyfall," and "Spectre" — are working with Refn on a project that "will have an Asian setting with both thriller and action elements." One does have to wonder if this means "The Avenging Silence" is becoming a reality, and given Purvis’ and Wade’s blockbuster cred, could Refn be aiming to deliver something with a more mainstream flavor than we’ve seen from him before? Certainly he’s not adverse, given that he was attached to WB‘s "Logan’s Run" remake for a while, but we’ll just have to see what these guys come up with.
Next on deck for Refn is the already completed "Neon Demon." It’s probably a safe bet for a Cannes premiere this spring, where Refn were surely be asked about this mysterious project.