Nicolas Winding Refn Reviving ‘Maniac Cop’ As His Next Movie

EXCLUSIVE, Updated with details: Hot off a 12-minute standing ovation earlier this week at Cannes with his first directorial in ten years, Nicolas Winding Refn, has already set sights on his next directing gig, his long-in-the-works Maniac Cop with Mubi and Goodfellas.

Originally, the project was announced at Cannes 2016 as a feature, partly based on William Lustig’s 1988 cult classic, Maniac Cop which was to be directed by John Hyams. By October 2019, the project had morphed into a TV series in development with HBO and Canal+, produced by Refn’s NWR Originals and directed and executive produced by Hyams.

The blurb at the time for the Maniac Cop series was that it was set in Los Angeles, told through a kaleidoscope of characters, from cop to common criminal. A killer in uniform has uncaged mayhem upon the streets. Paranoia leads to social disorder as a city wrestles with the mystery of the exterminator in blue – is he mere mortal, or a supernatural force? No word yet if Refn is sticking with that exact plot-line for the big screen version. He’s keeping it confidential at this point in time.

We hear that Refn is shooting Maniac Cop in LA this January. Casting is forthcoming. Refn is also producing through his NWR Originals banner, with Christina Erritzøe and Kimberly Willming acting as Executive Producers. Vincent Maraval will Executive Produce for GoodFellas. Veterans will handle sales for the rest of the world.

Mubi is fully bankrolling Maniac Cop and has taken distribution rights for North America, Latin America, the UK & Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, Benelux, Turkey, Australia & New Zealand. Mubi is has committed to a wide theatrical release, repping another bold genre move for the theatrical distributor and streamer following the 2024 Oscar and Cannes winning The Substance.

The concept has always appealed to me,” said Refn in a statement. “In today’s political and social climate, the iconography of Maniac Cop alone provokes an immediate, uneasy reaction. I’ve been watching it all unfold while constructing this project in the shadows… waiting. Now, that moment has finally arrived. The time has come to unveil a radical new vision where there is no protection, no safety net, only mayhem…”

“Maniac Cop in Nicolas’s hands is not a remake. It is a resurrection,” said Efe Cakarel, Founder and CEO of MUBI. “Nicolas has one of the most dangerous imaginations in modern cinema, and he is exactly the filmmaker to reawaken something this iconic. We’re proud to be partnering with him on a film that feels bold, singular and impossible to ignore.”

“We have known Nicolas for a long time, and there is nobody better suited to bring this myth back to life,” said Vincent Maraval. “This is not nostalgia. It is a new nightmare, and with MUBI stepping in so decisively, Maniac Cop becomes the kind of ambitious global genre film that buyers and audiences will want to chase.”

Refn told Deadline he had a brush with death three years ago, undergoing heart surgery, and being dead for 20 minutes. It was a life-changing experience for the Cannes winning Drive director who swore that he’ll direct more movies. He further shared his near death experience at the Cannes premiere and the following day at a festival press conference where he cried. The last movie he directed before Her Private Hell was the 2016 Elle Fanning fashion noir Neon Demon which world premiered here at Cannes. Refn went on to create two streaming series, the Miles Teller starring 2019 Prime Video series Too Old To Die Young and the 2022 Netflix series Copenhagen Cowboy.

Her Private Hell is being released theatrically by Neon in North America on July 24.

Sophie Thatcher, Charles Melton, Havana Rose Liu, Kristine Froseth and Diego Calva star in a tale set in a futuristic city where actresses gather to make a sci-fi movie. However, a mist surrounds the city and a killer who has his sight set on woman, Leather Man, lurks. Meanwhile, a soldier, Private K, looks for his lost daughter.

Refn is repped by WME, Independent Talent Group and Nelson Davis.