‘Copenhagen Cowboy’: Nicolas Winding Refn Says Netflix Series Is A “Female Evolution” Of Male Characters From His Earlier Work

Nicolas Winding Refn‘s upcoming Netflix series “Copenhagen Cowboy” premieres today at the Venice Film Festival, his first project in three years. It’s also his first project in his native Denmark in fifteen years. So, what should fans of the provocateur expect from this homecoming? After all, the series stars Refn’s daughter, Lola Corfixen, while his wife, Liv Corfixen, also produces.

READ MORE: ‘Copenhagen Cowboy’ Teaser Trailer: Nicolas Winding Refn Delivers A Neon-Drenched Crime Series For Netflix

Deadline reports that, in a press conference at Venice, Refn hints that the series showcases a “female evolution” of characters from his earlier films. “I’ve done films in the past with a certain type of character that was first played by Mads Mikkelsen in “Valhalla Rising” on one hand and then Ryan Gosling played him as a driver in “Drive” and then Vithaya [Pansringarm] played him as a lieutenant in “Only God Forgives,” said the director. “So, I was working with Robert Wade and Neal Purvis, or Purvis and Wade as they are called, on a larger female evolution of that character and then suddenly one night, I was like, ‘maybe I should try to do a version of it as female and not just one but many.’ So, I said, ‘I’m going to make my version of a superhero show.’ And that was the kind of aspiration to do it.”

A superhero show by NWR? Sign us up. “Copenhagen Cowboy” stars Angela Bundalovic as Miu, a young heroine searching for justice and vengeance in the Danish criminal underworld. When she encounters Rakel, her nemesis, the pair embark on a supernatural odyssey that propels them to a fantastic new future. The show is Refn’s first project since his other series, 2019’s “Too Old To Die Young” with Miles Teller, Jena Malone, and Nell Tiger Free.  

Does Refn like working in the episode TV format? He said as much at the Venice press conference, citing genre TV as “one of the saviors of mass media.” “It’s a very interesting medium to work with and I’ve always loved it since the beginning when I started making films,” the director continued. “I think that genre-like fairy tales, or whatever you can combine it with, it’s a reflection of us as a society and it mirrors our desires and it’s our fantasies and it’s everything that’s really interesting because it’s heightened reality.” In Refn’s hands, that’s typically a violent, neon-drenched heightened reality, but so it goes.

Follow The Playlist’s coverage of the Venice Film Festival here for our review of “Copenhagen Cowboy.” Refn previously hinted the show may be his first of many projects for Netflix moving forward, so for his sake, let’s hope the new series gets more fanfare than “Too Old To Die Young.” That show languished on Amazon Prime before everyone quickly forgot about it.  As for “Copenhagen Cowboy,” expect a late 2022 release for it on Netflix.