Before making an American debut with Drive, Nicolas Winding Refn had been angling toward a domestic title of potentially greater commercial interest: The Dying of the Light, which would pair the Danish helmer with Harrison Ford, Channing Tatum, and screenwriter Paul Schrader. A dark thriller centered on a CIA agent going blind on a final mission, its pitting of these four was really something special right off the bat — making it oh-so-unfortunate when nothing came to fruition because, as Winding Refn will have you know, the actor (spoilers) didn’t want to die at the end. (Getting the Ryan Gosling-starrer out of it all wasn’t such a raw deal.)
But, years later, it has found a familiar home. When speaking to ThePlaylist, Schrader let slip that he’ll begin shooting Light in the winter, complete with Winding Refn‘s executive producer credit and “an A-actor” falling into the lead spot. (Now only required to work out “the perks,” we should expect his identity to be revealed soon.) Winter sounds about right for the recently revitalized writer-director, as his controversial The Canyons is making its first public showing in just a few months’ time at Venice, followed by a theatrical release from IFC. Though we’ll maybe want to skip that one, consider how much finer The Dying of the Light will be in its wake.
How do you feel about Schrader picking up this project?