Lupita Nyong'o has been chosen by John Woo to star in a reboot of his 1989 classic 'The Killer'.
Lupita Nyong'o
The original Hong Kong crime thriller starred Chow Yun-fat as the assassin, but in a twist on the original, Woo wants to remake the movie with a woman in the lead role.
'Black Panther' star Lupita, 35, is now in negotiations to board the project, according to Deadline.com, with Universal Pictures putting the film on fast track.
Woo will return to the director's chair.
The original Hong Kong crime thriller followed an assassin who has lost all hope after accidentally blinding a singer. He accepts one last hit in the hope of using his earnings to help her, only to be double-crossed by his boss.
The film is hailed as a classic for its use of balletic, stylised stuntwork which Woo hopes to recreate in the remake.
'The Killer' has had its script rewritten by Eran Creevy, with Brian Helgeland producing alongside Mark Gordon and Lori Tilkin.
Lori is also executive producing with Matt Jackson, Luc Etienne, and Terence Chang.
Lupita had her breakthrough in 2013's '12 Years A Slave', for which she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
She most recently starred as Special Forces warrior Nakia Marvel movie 'Black Panther'.
Lupita said of the role: "[She] is a war dog, which means that she is an undercover spy for Wakanda. She goes out into the world to places like Korea.
"She has a special relationship with T'Challa and what I love about that relationship is that it's not your average, you know, sweetheart story [with a] damsel in distress. They have a history but she is a reliable ear for him."
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