Daniel Espinosa, director of the critically acclaimed Snabba Cash, which will finally be released theatrically in the U.S. this summer after sitting on the shelf for the last two years, is in talks to take over the helm of Yakuza crime drama The Outsider.
Espinosa has been a hot commodity in the film community as of late as he just celebrated his latest feature, Safe House, crossing the $100 million mark domestically.
The Outsider is about a former American P.O.W. who entered into the Yakuza syndicate’s ranks after WWII. Warner Bros. picked up the script after it took 4th place on the 2011 Black List.
Besides setting their sights on Espinosa to direct, the production mega-house also has eyes for Michael Fassbender to star. Fassbender would take the role of the the former P.O.W.
The only issue is, the actor is becoming increasingly busy these days. He is already set to star in Twelve Years A Slave and Ridley Scott‘s The Counselor, written by Cormac McCarthy.
Then, there’s Brendon Gleeson‘s adaptation of At Swim-Two-Birds, which after an extended wait, is rumored to be filming later this year. Not to mention, Fassbender is also developing a project called Irish Myths, where he will play an Irish warrior.
Judging by Espinosa’s recent success, it doesn’t look like he will have any problem attracting the right leading man, even if Fassbender can’t do it.
The screenplay for The Outsider was written by Andrew Baldwin, who has recently jumped onto the Hollywood scene himself after writing this Black List approved script. His next project will be the Ryan Gosling/Nicolas Winding Refn remake of Logan’s Run.
