Wow. While Maniac Cop, certainly isn’t a favorite of mine (a recent revisit on Blu-ray left me so-so on the film), this could be pretty great. Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn is now involved in the re-emerging franchise in a big way. Before you explode – as of right now he’s not directing it. But he is producing it. Not only is that unexpected, but it gives me hope that the Maniac Cop franchise could finally have an installment that actually achieves the mood and style the original film aimed for. Of course, it’ll be a prequel (which I have no problem with).

Per Daily Grindhouse, “in an exclusive interview with both William Lustig and Larry Cohen, DG has learned that Nicolas Winding Refn is going to be joining Lustig as a producer of the new film. ‘It’s going to be more a prequel than anything else, I am really excited to come back to this world especially since Nick is going to be a part of it’ said Cohen. ‘Nick (Winding Refn) has been talking to us about it for a while now and I had an idea that would work so we’re going to do it.’ Cohen said that the film will still maintain the noir-ish comic book feel of the first three films but ‘with a bigger budget than the others have had.’”

Some sites are speculating that Refn could even end up directing this thing. While I wouldn’t necessarily hold my breath, it doesn’t seem like a totally unrealistic proposition either. Even though he’s A-List, he’s no snob and he has gone on record for his love of genre film in general many times.

What do you think? Should the prequel go for the period setting? Or should they reboot in the modern day?