Lupita Nyong’o is no longer starring in John Woo’s remake of his 1989 classic The Killer. The remake was set be a gender swap where Nyong’o would play the role of the assassin who accepts one final mission.
Nyong’o is said to have eventually stepped away because of her busy schedule. Woo said rewriting the script after he departure ‘took so much time’.
One might ask Mr. Woo why he would risk tarnishing the legacy of one of his classics by creating what will undoubtedly be a subpar, pc-ridden cash-grab riding solely on the fumes of fans goodwill. He provides us with an answer, albeit to a different question:
“I don’t have that gift, I’m not a sci-fi guy — I don’t think I could make a good one. There’s so much imagination… I don’t think I can reach that level.”
This was his response to why he would not direct a Marvel movie. Essentially, he is admitting that he lacks imagination. I’m going to have to concur. He said he wanted to do the movie again and this time with a woman because: “It will make the movie have a different look.”
Yes, this true. But what else is true is that you can do a movie with a woman and not call it The Killer and it will still have a different look. Another thing it would have is integrity. A work that is forced to stand on its own and not use the name of a better film as a crutch to garner an audience.
The truth of the matter is that as much as these guys claim to care about ‘representing women’ they don’t think very highly of them. If they did they would have the courage to stand behind the strength of their convictions and not resort to gimmicky remakes.
You want to make a female-lead action movie? Go right ahead, I love them. But have the respect and fortitude to at least give them their own bloody name.
