In April, director Justin Lin abruptly walked away from the franchise he brought back to life, quitting Fast X after it had begun production. Lin revitalized the Fast and Furious films with Fast Five, and was key to the series’ massive success (though he did not, sadly, have the same effect on the Trek film franchise with Star Trek Beyond).
So what’s next? Something a little different. Deadline reports that Sony has hired Lin to direct a new adaptation of One Punch Man, the story of a hero who can defeat any opponent with a single punch.
One Punch Man began life as a webcomic by an artist known as ONE. It was remade into a bestselling manga series, and has also been adapted as a popular anime series (pictured above). The brief cover copy for the first volume of the manga explains, “Every time a promising villain appears, Saitama beats the snot out of ’em with one punch! Can he finally find an opponent who can go toe-to-toe with him and give his life some meaning? Or is he doomed to a life of superpowered boredom?”
Sony’s version has a list of big behind-the-camera names attached, from writers Scott Rosenberg & Jeff Pinkner (Venom, Jumanji: The Next Level) to producers Avi Arad and Ari Arad (who’ve worked on countless superhero films, including all the various Spider-Men). Lin, according to Deadline, “also will be a producer and will work with the scribes on a rewrite with the intention to begin production by year’s end.”
