Tom Hardy is attached to star in Japanese director Takashi Miike’s English language debut.
The prolific filmmaker has made close two a hundred motion pictures in his native country. Now Miike is looking to make the jump to Hollywood, and he’s bringing a very talented actor along for the ride.
Tom Hardy is currently slated to star in the director’s upcoming English language flick The Outsider . Veteran producer Joel Silver ( The Matrix , Die Hard ) is also on-board for the project.
The Dark Knight Rises star will portray an American soldier who soon becomes involved with the Yakuza. Miike has used the Japanese underworld as a setting for numerous movies, including his kinetic and ultra-violent thriller Dead or Alive .
Although the movie was originally being handled by Warner Bros. , it would appear that the flick will be independently financed instead. Silver Pictures and Linson Entertainment will co-produce the endeavor. The Outsider is expected to begin shooting in Japan at some point next year.
For those who don’t follow Japanese cinema, Takashi Miike is one of the most prolific filmmakers in the country. After cutting his teeth on direct-to-video titles (also known as V-cinema), he quickly developed a cult following thanks to such memorably violent efforts as Ichi the Killer , Visitor Q , and the delightfully warped musical The Happiness of the Katakuris . He also directed the intensely creepy horror flick Audition .
Tom Hardy continues to prove that he’s willing and able to tackle just about any role you throw his way. The guy can do romantic comedy ( This Means War ), action ( The Dark Knight Rises ), and drama ( Warrior ). He’s also proven that he can take things to the extreme, as evidenced by his turn in Nicolas Winding Refn’s Bronson .
Hardy recently signed on to portray Elton John in the upcoming biopic Rocketman . The busy actor can be found next in director George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road and Michael R. Roskam’s Animal Rescue .
Are you a fan of Tom Hardy ? What do you think about the actor starring in Takashi Miike’s English language debut?
