James Mangold Reunites With ‘Logan’ Writer for Corrupt Cop Flick ‘The Force’
With the Patty Hearst movie off the table, James Mangold is back on the directing market. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for the director of last year’s Logan to land on his next gig: The Force. Originally optioned as a potential directing vehicle for Ridley Scott, the corrupt cop drama — based on Don Winslow’s bestselling novel — will reunite Mangold with Logan writer Scott Frank.
According to Deadline, Mangold has signed on to direct The Force, which centers on a corrupt NYPD sergeant named Denny Malone — several high-profile actors are reportedly under consideration to take on the complex role. Ridley Scott is still on board to produce the adaptation, with Logan screenwriter Scott Frank currently revising the script. The most recent draft was written by David Mamet.
The Force certainly has no shortage of awesome creative talent behind the scenes, and it’ll be interesting to see which actor lands what is likely to be a coveted leading role — particularly since this project is being compared to acclaimed cop thrillers like The Departed and Serpico. Here’s the official synopsis for Don Winslow’s novel, which is based on years of research inside the NYPD:
All Denny Malone wants is to be a good cop.
He is “the King of Manhattan North,” a, highly decorated NYPD detective sergeant and the real leader of “Da Force.” Malone and his crew are the smartest, the toughest, the quickest, the bravest, and the baddest, an elite special unit given unrestricted authority to wage war on gangs, drugs and guns. Every day and every night for the eighteen years he’s spent on the Job, Malone has served on the front lines, witnessing the hurt, the dead, the victims, the perps. He’s done whatever it takes to serve and protect in a city built by ambition and corruption, where no one is clean—including Malone himself.
What only a few know is that Denny Malone is dirty: he and his partners have stolen millions of dollars in drugs and cash in the wake of the biggest heroin bust in the city’s history. Now Malone is caught in a trap and being squeezed by the Feds, and he must walk the thin line between betraying his brothers and partners, the Job, his family, and the woman he loves, trying to survive, body and soul, while the city teeters on the brink of a racial conflagration that could destroy them all.
The Force will be distributed through Fox, which is also developing a Ford vs. Ferrari period racing drama with Mangold attached to direct.