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The Killer: Everything to Know About John Woo's Peacock Action Film
The Killer is now streaming exclusively on Peacock!
After several years out of the spotlight, legendary action director John Woo has officially returned to the realm of American cinema with Silent Night (a John Wick-style revenge thriller set around Christmas) a reimagining of his classic 1989 Hong Kong action film, The Killer.
The latter project — which is now streaming exclusively on Peacock — stars The Fast Saga and Game of Thrones actor Nathalie Emmanuel as a veteran assassin forced to run for her life after refusing to take the life a young blind woman. This updated plot is only loosely based on that of the original, which centered around a retired hitman (Chow Yun-fat), who decides to take on one last job in order to pay for the eye surgery of a woman he accidentally blinds in the field.
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Woo was not initially interested in helming the reimagining, which had languished in a state of development hell for over three decades. “I never thought about remaking my own film, especially for a movie like The Killer, which is impossible to recreate,” he admits in the production notes. “I’d poured my heart and soul into it already.”
The thing that finally got him on board was the idea of a female lead, pitched by screenwriters Josh Campbell and Matt Stuecken, who ultimately received final script credit with Brian Helgeland. “I had never made a movie that had a female-centric character, so to me, this felt very new and challenging,” Woo continued. “I have always wanted to create a strong and tough female character. I believe that women are just as tough as men, but they have more romanticism than men.”
What Is John Woo's The Killer About?
The Killer centers around a lethal and feared Parisian assassin named Zee (Emmanuel) — aka the Queen of the Dead. While not usually bound by any particular moral code, Zee displays a modicum of mercy when she refuses to kill a young blind woman (Jenna Silvers) at a local nightclub. This decision incurs the wrath of her shadowy handler Finn (Sam Worthington) and, by extension, every hitman in the City of Light, prompting Zee to form an unlikely alliance with a savvy French detective Sey (Omar Sy). The ensuing adventure plunges the Queen of the Dead into the heart of a criminal conspiracy that forces her to confront her own past.
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“Zee is a lonely and oppressed assassin, and Sey is an honest but tough cop,” Woo explains. “They share a sense of decency and have the same values in terms of justice. Fate has brought them together, but they have a very different style and approach to things. The two develop a very memorable friendship and sense of appreciation for each other after the events that open the film.”
Who Stars in John Woo's The Killer?
The Killer features a killer cast comprised of Emmanuel, Sy (Jurassic World), Worthington (Avatar), Diana Silvers (Ma), Eric Cantona (The Fragile Colossus), Saϊd Taghmaoui (Wonder Woman), Tchéky Karyo (A Very Long Engagement), Grégory Montel (Thirst for Life), Angeles Woo (Silent Night), and Aurélia Agel (Black Widow).
Woo serves as producer on the film alongside Charles Roven, Alex Gartner, and Lori Tilkin deFelice. Terence Chang, Mark Gordon, Matt Jackson, and Robin Mulcahy Fisichella are executive producers.
How to Stream John Woo's The Killer?
The Killer will is now streaming exclusively on Peacock.
The NBCUniversal platform offers two monthly subscription plans: Premium ($7.99 a month with ads) and Premium Plus ($13.99 a month with no ads and download access for certain titles). If you're a student, you can enjoy the Premium plan for just $1.99 for an entire year!
