Talk about a brilliant twist of fate: Dope filmmaker Rick Famuyiwa has found an exciting new project in the wake of departing The Flash for Warner Bros. He’s going to adapt the martial arts graphic novel Son of Shaolin for Columbia Pictures.
Written by Jay Longino and illustrated by Caanan White, the kung fu epic is set in Harlem, New York and follows an aspiring street artist named Kyrie, who learns he’s the last living descendent of ancient Shaolin elders. Lacking direction, he turns to the paternalistic Master Fong and learns martial arts to fight a relentless killer who’s wiped out his bloodline.
(Read: Dope‘s Rick Famuyiwa explains how he found the right voice for a trio of unlikely drug dealers)
It’s a little out there, admittedly, but sounds like ripe material for Famuyiwa. After all, he managed to find a believable balance of surrealism and reality for Dope, so there’s little doubt he’ll bring that same stylish approach to this story.
He’ll be in good company, too. Dwayne Johnson is producing the feature film, alongside Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia via Seven Bucks Entertainment, and one has to believe The Rock will be much easier to work with than the minds behind the DCU.
All in all, great news for Famuyiwa. Quite a rebound.
