If you thought that only two-thirds of Park Chan-Wook's Vengeance trilogy were headed for Hollywood, with Oldboy and Sympathy For Mr Vengeance, you’d best think again. Charlize Theron’s Denver & Delilah Films grabbed the rights to Lady Vengeance back in 2008 and began developing a new version of it. Now Theron has also made a deal to star.
The original 2005 film (which arrived here in 2006) follows the first two, but doesn’t have a direct narrative connection, sharing instead themes and a few cast members. Lady Vengeance tells the story of a young woman who is put away in prison after taking the fall for a child killer who is still at large.
Upon her release, she searches for her daughter and puts into motion a plan to take revenge on the real culprit.
The Departed’s William Monahan is aboard to write the script and outlines what he plans in a statement picked up by The Hollywood Reporter: "This will be very American and very unexpected. Park is a genius; it’s the Everest of adaptations and I've got blood in my teeth to do it." Hmm, we're not sure what that last phrase means, but it sounds like he might need some floss.
There’s no director attached yet, but Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures is on to provide the financing. Depending on how the scripting goes, this could be shooting as early as next year.