MOVIE NEWS – The Sleeping Dogs film adaptation has finally taken a decisive step forward: a director is now attached, and the creative direction clearly leans toward hard-hitting John Wick-style action. Timo Tjahjanto will helm the project, with Marvel star Simu Liu set to lead and produce.
The video game industry is full of strange injustices, with excellent titles failing or fading into obscurity. Sadly, Sleeping Dogs belongs to that group. Released in 2012 by United Front Games, the title set out to reinterpret the open-world crime formula popularized by Grand Theft Auto, transporting it to the less explored setting of modern Hong Kong while placing a strong emphasis on melee combat. Now, with the studio closed and a sequel unlikely, the film adaptation has made a major leap forward by securing a director.
Timo Tjahjanto and the promise of brutal action
Timo Tjahjanto, an Indonesian filmmaker known for his stylized violence and relentless pacing, will be behind the camera. While his name may not be as widely recognized as Chad Stahelski or David Leitch, he is far from inexperienced. His style was recently showcased in Nobody 2, starring Bob Odenkirk, and he is also set to direct The Beekeeper 2 with Jason Statham.
Although these productions are not massive blockbusters, they clearly display his signature approach: intense, precisely executed action somewhere between Gareth Evans’ The Raid and Stahelski’s John Wick. Before moving on to international projects, Tjahjanto had already established his identity with films such as May the Devil Take You (2018) and its 2020 sequel, as well as Netflix releases like The Night Comes for Us and Out of the Shadows, all focused on uncompromising, visceral action.
For Sleeping Dogs, Tjahjanto will serve solely as director. This adaptation of one of the most underrated games of the PS3 and Xbox 360 era could revive interest in the original IP and potentially convince Square Enix that it still has an audience. Leading the effort is Simu Liu, who plans to bring the story to the big screen as both star and producer, with a script by Tze Chun, known for his work on Gotham. Whether this could eventually open the door to a video game sequel will depend entirely on the film’s box office performance.
Source: 3djuegos
