A big screen version of the original Kane & Lynch game, developed by Hitman studio IO Interactive and released back in 2007, was on the cards for years, with various Hollywood stars attached at one point or another.
Writing on social media this week, Nobody 2 director Timo Tjahjanto revealed that he had written a treatment for the Kane & Lynch film that would have starred David Harbour — that’s Stranger Things’ own Jim Hopper, or Red Guardian/Florence Pugh’s dad in Thunderbolts*/New Avengers.
“Never seen a script, but couple years ago when that property was still kinda shit hot. I wrote a short treatment with James Badge Dale and David Harbour in mind,” Tjahjanto wrote. “Never gotten anywhere.”
Tjahjanto can take some solace, perhaps, in knowing that his treatment — a briefing document prepared for a film studio from which a script is then prepared — was one of many ideas for a Kane & Lynch movie that never saw the light of day.
For several years, Bruce Willis and Jamie Foxx had been attached to the project, though both dropped out as the film’s script went through multiple rewrites.
Later, another version of the project was reportedly set to star Gerard Butler and Vin Diesel in its title roles, though this never amounted to anything either.
Ultimately, after an average game sequel — 2010’s Kane & Lynch: Dog Days — IO Interactive stepped back from the series and refocused entirely on its Hitman franchise.
Photo by Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
