Director Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, Thirst, Sympathy for Mr Vengeance, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance and the upcoming Stoker) is loyal to the projects that grab his attention. After he finishes post-production on Stoker he’s going to be circling back to the project he was prepping before that script came along, The Axe.

Chan-wook told the Korea JoongAng Daily that “I was planning to make another film, ‘The Axe,’ before I started shooting ‘Stoker.’ But while I was still seeking investors for that film, I received the screenplay for ‘Stoker.’ So ‘The Axe’ will be my next work, though I need to do some more work on the casting and attracting investors. I’m also thinking about making a historical film, but I’m not sure when I’ll be able to do that… I’d like to continue working in both Hollywood and Korea. Actually, it doesn’t matter to me where a film is made. If the story is good, I’ll follow it.”

The Axe certainly sounds interesting. In the film (a remake of Costa-Gavras’ 2005 film Le Couperet (The Ax), adapted from a novel by Donald E. Westlake), “a middle aged, middle class salaryman loses his job after a downsizing, and after spending the following two years downsizing his lifestyle, he decides to overcome competition in his own personal way: chopping down anyone who gets in the way of his path back into fiscal solvency.”

Stoker has no firm release date as of yet, but it’s looking like a Fall 2012 release.

Pictured: Park Chan-wook