Lupita Nyong’o has booked another action pic. The “Black Panther” and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” star is set to topline a remake of “The Killer” for Universal Pictures.
Variety reports that this will be a gender swapped version of the 1989 Chinese film about an assassin (Chow Yun-Fat) who accidentally damages the eyes of a singer (Sally Yeh). The pair fall in love, and he accepts one last hit job in order to pay for an expensive surgery that will prevent her from going blind.
Nyong’o will portray the assassin, joining the ranks of Blake Lively and Jennifer Garner, who are also playing assassins in upcoming films.
John Woo directed the original take on the story and will return to he director’s chair for the remake.
Nyong’o won an Oscar for her breakout role in “12 Years a Slave.” Her upcoming projects include “The Woman King,” a film about African female warriors based on true events, and a TV adaptation of “Americanah,” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s beloved novel about a trans-Atlantic romance. She also has a picture book on the way. Titled “Sulwe,” the story centers on a Kenyan girl who wants to lighten her dark complexion. Along the way, she learns that beauty is not a specific standard, but is instead all-encompassing and much more than meets the eye.
