“Logan” Director James Mangold Plans Return to His “Copland” Roots With Don Winslow’s “The Force”

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After directing the best movie of the year (so far) in Logan, James Mangold is in talks to reteam with 20th Century Fox and direct its epic crime drama THE FORCE, based on the upcoming novel by Don Winslow, the Tracking Board has confirmed.

Ridley Scott will produce under his Scott Free banner along with Shane Salerno of The Story Factory and Michael Schaefer. Scott is already developing Fox’s adaptation of Winslow’s book The Cartel, which just got pushed so the director can focus on the Getty family kidnapping drama All the Money in the World.

The studio is already targeting A-list writers to develop The Force with Mangold, who previously directed the police pic Copland. This story follows a corrupt NYPD cop who’s forced to choose between his family, his brothers in blue, and his own life, which finds itself threatened by an assortment of unsavory types ranging from Harlem drug dealers and the mob to the mayor’s office and relentless federal investigators.

While author Stephen King has compared The Force to “The Godfather, only with cops,” it has also drawn comparisons to the Sidney Lumet films Serpico and Prince of the City. Expect A-list actors to be chomping at the bit for a juicy part like this.

20th Century Fox executive Steve Asbell will oversee the project for the studio.

 Jeff Sneider | Editor in Chief