Justin Lin, the filmmaker behind half of the nitrous oxide-fueled Fast and Furious movies, is revving up with another franchise. The filmmaker is in talks to direct an adaptation of the popular Japanese property One Punch Man for Sony.
Lin’s hiring comes weeks after the director’s high profile exit from Universal’s Fast X, which saw an unusual situation unfold in which the director voluntarily exited a shoot already in production. Lin is best known for helming five Fast movies, beginning with the third installment, Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) and including last summer’s F9.
One Punch Man began life in 2009 as a web comic and centers on a superhero named Saitama. He has the power to defeat any foe with a single punch, but soon he grows bored and seeks out a bigger challenge. The web comic from the artist known as ONE moved to publisher Jump Next in 2012 and saw ONE team with artist Yusuke Murata. As it rose to prominence, it was adapted as an anime and video game.
Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner, the duo known for Jumanji: The Next Level and Venom, penned the latest script. Ari Arad of Arad Productions will produce the film adaptation.
Lin is repped by CAA.
