This has just been a Takashi Miike kind of week.
Hollywood courted Miike for years. Looks like it's finally happening. The man has directed 103 films — might as well take a stab at Hollywood now. He already has that Charli XCX project, which might be an Audition” remake, and now he’s added another one.
Neon is teaming up with Miike who is preparing to start filming “Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo” in May. The cast will include Shun Oguri (”Godzilla vs. Kong”), Lily James (“Yesterday”), and WWE’s Liv Morgan.
A joint venture between the U.S. and Japan, Neon is expected to introduce the film to global buyers at the Cannes Film Festival. The aim is for a 2026 release in theaters.
Penned by Daisuke Tengan (”Audition,” “13 Assassins”), and inspired by the original concept created by Edward R. Pressman, this is set to be the third ‘Bad Lieutenant’ movie of the franchise — the other two were Abel Ferrara’s 1992 original, and Werner Herzog’s “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans,” released in 2009.
Miike’s film will tackle Oguri’s character—a corrupt Tokyo police officer and compulsive gambler—who becomes entangled in a complex investigation when a mysterious FBI agent, played by James, arrives to probe the disappearance of a politician’s daughter, portrayed by Morgan. Their pursuit unfolds against the backdrop of Tokyo’s criminal underworld, where a sinister figure linked to the yakuza appears to be tracking their every move.
Miike has directed a whopping 103 films, almost nobody’s seen all of them, but the essential works are “Audition,” “Ichi the Killer,” “13 Assassins,” and “Visitor Q.”
Aslan is described as "he," with heterochromic eyes and red-striped face, a look Gerwig says was inspired by David Bowie. So this isn't a gender-swap. Aslan is still a male lion. He's just voiced by a 77-year-old woman.