Maniac Cop Remake Shooting Everyone Next Spring
Steve Barton
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In case you haven’t already heard, Maniac Cop is getting the remake treatment; and according to Variety, director John Hyams is planning to shoot a remake of the 1988 cult favorite next spring in New York City.
Nicolas Winding Refn and William Lustig are producing the project, which has been in development since 2012. The script is written by prolific comic book writer Ed Brubaker.
Hyams, who directed Universal Soldier: Regeneration and Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, told Variety that he came on board to direct after Lustig sought him out.
“I’m a huge admirer of both producers, and I’d been looking to do something that bridges the gap between action and horror like this,” he said. “The script is able to re-invent the original with the same mythology. We had thought about shooting in the fall, but we decided on the spring to give ourselves enough time to get the best cast and crew.”
The 1988 original, directed by Lustig, follows a murderous cop who returns from the dead to patrol the New York City streets and kill those who turn to him for help. It starred Tom Atkins, Bruce Campbell, Laurene Landon, Richard Roundtree, William Smith, and Robert Z’Dar as the title character.
It grossed less than its $1.1 million budget but was followed by Maniac Cop 2 in 1990 and Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence in 1993.
The new Maniac Cop will probably have a budget in the $5 million to $6 million range with a shoot of about 25 days. Hyams said he’s become accustomed to working quickly withouta massive budget after directing nine episodes of Syfy’s “Z Nation.” “I feel as if I’m in fighting shape,” he added.
More as it comes.
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