John Woo has a lot going for him. Not only is he a master of the fine old art of jumping through the air while firing two guns at once (and possibly going "Aaaarrh" at the same time) but he's also a perennial finalist in Nicest Man In Movies competitions. But now his cup really do runneth over, with the news that he's set to direct and produce the awesomely titled Ninja Gold, a concept from video game creator Warren Spector.
Ninja Gold (we just love saying it) is the story of a ninja warrior (well, duh!) from a long line of ninjas who has to deal with the realities of modern covert warfare. (Now let's just pause for a minute and get our head around the mental image of family gatherings - christenings, weddings, that sort of thing - of ninjas. Heck, that's a film right there. But we digress.) The story is apparently based on tales of the Russian mob and Japanese Yakuza being involved in the smuggling of gold out of Africa, but beyond that details remain hazy.
Woo apparently came up with the concept of working with ninjas in a modern setting, whereupon Spector (creator of games like Deus Ex, Thief: Deadly Shadows and System Shock) took the idea and ran with it. Woo worked with him on the characters, and the pair will be splitting up film and game duties. The game will apparently have more fantastical elements than the film, although there will be some unrealistic stuff there too.
Woo is also working on a game called Stranglehold, which is a virtual sequel to his classic Hard Boiled, with Chow Yun Fat even virtually reprising his role. That's due on the PS3 in August, on a Blu-Ray disc that will also include the original film, and Woo's producing partner Terence Chang has expressed a tantalising willingness to consider taking Stranglehold back to the screen as well. Is it too late for a **Hard Boiled **sequel? Or can't you wait? Let us know what you think below.