Fast and Furious Star Sung Kang to Direct "Initial D" Movie
Initial D, the Japanese manga that made an oversteering hero out of the Toyota AE86 is getting a big-screen adaptation. Speaking to the South China Morning Post last month, Sung Kang, the actor best known for playing Han Lue in the Fast and Furious movies, said he's directing an adaptation of Initial D.
"It’s about cars and drifting and cool things like that," Kang said in the interview. "Almost a Rocky or Karate Kid. A fun, big-budget movie that expresses my love affair for cars." The Drive also notes that in a recent episode of his Car Stories podcast, he mentioned that legendary Japanese Porsche tuner RWB is developing an AE86 for the movie.
He hasn't yet provided a timeline for when this movie will get made. Right now, he's promoting his directorial debut, the horror/comedy Shaky Shivers, while also developing another, autobiographical film about growing up in an interracial household in Georgia.
Kang is a die-hard enthusiast. He's got a great collection of cars including many Datsun Zs, and he's deeply involved in the car community. In other words, he's probably the right guy to develop an Initial D movie. The original series, which ran from 1995 to 2013, is one of the most popular manga of all times. It spawned an anime TV series and a live-action film in 2005.
Soon, the Fast and Furious franchise will come to an end, and Kang is looking to his future. What connects his future film projects is a desire to boost Asian representation on screen. "It was time to get behind the camera and start creating," he told the South China Morning Post. "As a director, I can give opportunities to people who face the same struggles I face in Hollywood. It's about paying forward and passing on knowledge."
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