It's already been announced that the Stranglehold movie won't be directed by Hong Kong filmmaker John Woo. Instead, the still-in-production-film will be helmed by Stephen Fung and isn't a Hard-Boiled sequel.
The game follows "Tequilla", the character played by actor Chow Yun-Fat in 1992 film Hard Boiled. Terence Chang, John Woo's long time producing partner, explains that the game and the movie will share some action set pieces, but they will be different.
"There was once a sequel to Hard Boiled, from an idea that I had," states Chang. "I developed it for Chow Yun-fat and had commissioned a pretty good script written by John Jarrell. The project is now inactive." The Stranglehold movie is this proposed Hard-Boiled sequel — what's more, Chow Yun-Fat does not appear involved.
"We are now developing a movie of STRANGLEHOLD, and just signed the writers Fabrizio & Passmore," Chang continues. (Jeremy Passmore and Andre Fabrizio are also penning the Mission In Action update.) Chang adds that the Stranglehold flick will be "a hardcore action film" and will be set in both Hong Kong and Chicago just as in the game.
"We will keep some of the action set pieces of the game, but the story is different," Chang says. "It is a total reinvention, with a much younger Tequila. In other words, it is not a sequel to Hard-Boiled." A much younger Tequila? In other words, a difficult role for the 53-year-old Chow Yun-Fat to play.
Terence Change speaks up about that "Stranglehold" movie! [Twitch via Latino Review]