Amid the controversy caused by the hack on Sony and the upcoming release of their film The Interview, New Regency has decided to drop plans for a comedy set in North Korea. The film was to star Steve Carrell and be directed by Gore Verbinski, director of hits such as Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Rango, and the 2002 remake The Ring. The untitled film was to start shooting in March of next year, and marked the beginning of a multiyear deal between Verbinski’s new production company Blind Wink and New Regency.
The film was an adaptation of a graphic novel by Guy Delisle entitled Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea, which follows an American cartoonist allowed into North Korea on a work visa who is suddenly accused of espionage.
Steve Conrad, the writer of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, The Weather Man, and The Pursuit of Happiness, has been adapting the graphic novel into a screenplay. The film would have been a return to comedy for Carrell, who is currently garnering Oscar buzz for his transformational dramatic role in Bennett Miller’s Foxcatcher.
There has been no statement from New Regency yet as to the exact reason why they are canceling the release of the film, but it’s not surprising given the backlash Sony has received for The Interview. From cancellng their Christmas Day release of the film altogether to having tons of confidential emails and information leak online, Sony has been having a surprisingly stressful past few weeks.
It’s likely that a smaller company such as New Regency is looking to avoid anything that may incense the so-called Guardians of Peace. Although the cancellation of this particular project may seem isolated, the Sony hack may have much broader implications for the entertainment industry moving forward.