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“The thing [director] Joe Carnahan, [star] Frank Grillo, and I saw eye to eye on from the jump, was that it wasn’t a remake, it was a reimagining,” Simon shared with ComicBook.com. “There is no need to redo something that has already been done exceptionally well.”
He added, “When I started writing and sending pages over to Joe, it turned into something all it’s own. It became its own animal. Through that process, a story emerged. A tale about two brothers and an examination of why we can fight so viciously with the ones we care for most. It kept evolving that way from the first draft until the current draft we have now. Zeno is comparable to The Raid as Die Hard is to Dredd.”
Simon went on to offer some new details about the film’s narrative, which will extend past the film’s violence to serve as a commentary on society’s fixation on combat.
“Zeno is one of the brothers. He’s an operator and broken at the top of the story,” Simon pointed out. “He is a guy who, in many ways, is at the point of hanging it all up. Then, unexpectedly he is forced to go back in on an op. Zeno is in no condition to fight but he has to. He has to dig down deep to rediscover his will to fight. I felt for the character, I am constantly trying to turn over a new leaf, trying to hang up the violence in me, but Tinseltown tough guys seem hell-bent on testing my f-cking patience.”
Zeno won’t be a total departure from the story that inspired it, as fans can still anticipate intense action.
“It is one hell of a story with a lot of heart,” Simon confessed. “The central theme of brotherhood and family remains intact as we move through the gears and scream around the track at a face-splitting speed. I will say this about The Raid films. If you loved them as I did, you will love Zeno.”
Stay tuned for details on Zeno.
Do these details have you excited for the new film? Let us know in the comments below!
Additional reporting by Nick Floyd
