According to Deadline, Warner Bros.’ new label Clockwork has won a bidding war to acquire Park Chan-wook’s “The Brigands of Rattlecreek” for North America. The deal is said to be in the $15M range. The estimated budget for the film is $60M.
This marks Clockwork’s second major acquisition after nabbing Sean Baker’s “Ti Amo!” back in April. “Brigands” is expected to begin production in early 2027.
Park has been trying to make “Brigands,” written by S. Craig Zahler, an “ultraviolent Western,” for 20 years, but the project has remained stuck in development hell for the last decade. Matthew McConaughey, Pedro Pascal, Austin Butler, and Tang Wei are attached to star.
Of particular note, it appears that Park has revised Zahler’s script, though there is no word yet on how extensive those changes might be. Hopefully, he has preserved the spirit of the original screenplay, which is a nasty pulp Western.
The film centers on a sheriff and a physician who join forces to hunt down a ruthless gang that exploits violent thunderstorms to raid and brutalize a remote town. In doing so, the story taps into Park’s familiar fixations—revenge, moral fallout, and the lingering weight of past trauma—reframed within the stark, unforgiving landscape of the American frontier.
Park has enjoyed a remarkably acclaimed run over the last 10 years, but if you ask me, he has yet to surpass the seismic impact of “Oldboy.” Released in 2003, the revenge thriller detonated like a cinematic bomb, carrying the unmatched raw energy of a modern classic.
Park’s other acclaimed credits are impressive as well, including “The Handmaiden,” “Decision to Leave,” “No Other Choice,” “Lady Vengeance,” and “Thirst.”