Nicolas Winding Refn Sets ‘Maniac Cop’ With Mubi, Goodfellas
Nicolas Winding Refn will direct a new version of “Maniac Cop,” with Mubi providing full financing and a wide theatrical release commitment across multiple territories.
Goodfellas is co-producing, and Veterans will oversee sales for the rest of the world.
Refn will direct and produce through his byNWR Originals banner. Christina Erritzøe and Kimberly Willming serve as executive producers for byNWR; Vincent Maraval executive produces for Goodfellas. Mubi’s distribution footprint takes in North America, Latin America, the U.K. and Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, Benelux, Turkey, and Australia and New Zealand.
Production is set to begin in Los Angeles in January 2027, with cast and key creatives yet to be announced.
The original “Maniac Cop,” directed by William Lustig from a script by Larry Cohen and released in 1988, centers on a series of murders carried out by a killer in a police uniform across New York City. The perpetrator is eventually revealed to be Matt Cordell, a decorated officer who was framed, imprisoned and left for dead by corrupt officials, and who returns disfigured and vengeful – targeting the guilty and innocent alike. The film tapped into contemporary anxieties about police brutality and institutional corruption, became a cult phenomenon and spawned two sequels. Refn acquired the rights more than a decade ago and has been developing the project since.
“The concept has always appealed to me,” Refn said. “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,” added 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 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 won the best director prize at Cannes in 2011 for “Drive” and returned to the festival in competition with “Only God Forgives” (2013) and “The Neon Demon” (2016). His latest film, “Her Private Hell,” played out of competition at Cannes this year.
Veterans recently handled international sales on Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez,” which won two Oscars, and Walter Salles’ “I’m Still Here,” winner of the Oscar for best international feature.
Goodfellas is co-producing, and Veterans will oversee sales for the rest of the world.
Refn will direct and produce through his byNWR Originals banner. Christina Erritzøe and Kimberly Willming serve as executive producers for byNWR; Vincent Maraval executive produces for Goodfellas. Mubi’s distribution footprint takes in North America, Latin America, the U.K. and Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, Benelux, Turkey, and Australia and New Zealand.
Production is set to begin in Los Angeles in January 2027, with cast and key creatives yet to be announced.
The original “Maniac Cop,” directed by William Lustig from a script by Larry Cohen and released in 1988, centers on a series of murders carried out by a killer in a police uniform across New York City. The perpetrator is eventually revealed to be Matt Cordell, a decorated officer who was framed, imprisoned and left for dead by corrupt officials, and who returns disfigured and vengeful – targeting the guilty and innocent alike. The film tapped into contemporary anxieties about police brutality and institutional corruption, became a cult phenomenon and spawned two sequels. Refn acquired the rights more than a decade ago and has been developing the project since.
“The concept has always appealed to me,” Refn said. “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,” added 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 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 won the best director prize at Cannes in 2011 for “Drive” and returned to the festival in competition with “Only God Forgives” (2013) and “The Neon Demon” (2016). His latest film, “Her Private Hell,” played out of competition at Cannes this year.
Veterans recently handled international sales on Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez,” which won two Oscars, and Walter Salles’ “I’m Still Here,” winner of the Oscar for best international feature.