‘Man On Fire’: Series Remake Lands 8-Episode Order At Netflix

From time to time we see various films end up getting series remakes with the likes of action flicks such as Fox‘s “Lethal Weapon,” two shows based on Luc Besson‘s “La Femme Nikita,” and most recently with a series take on James Cameron‘s spy pic “True Lies.” Well, yet another action movie is getting the small-screen treatment with “Man of Fire” getting an eight-episode straight-to-series order from New Regency and Netflix, according to a report hailing from THR.

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Kyle Killen from “Halo” is set to act as writer, showrunner, and executive producer on the streaming project. The new series is said to be based on the first two novels “Man on Fire” and “The Perfect Kill” from author Philip Nicholson, aka, A. J. Quinnell.  

John Creasy, the main character in Nicholson’s string of books, is a broken ex-mercenary that ends up agreeing to protect his fallen comrade’s daughter from the forces that destroyed her family. There are five Creasy books in total which would allow Netflix to continue the series by adapting subsequent installments “The Blue Ring,” “Black Horn,” and “Message From Hell” down the road. Of course, only if the show gets enough eyeballs are Netflix expected to ask for more episodes beyond what’s already being ordered.

Some might be shocked to learn Tony Scott‘s 2004 film starring Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning was itself a remake after the 1987 version from French filmmaker Élie Chouraqui. That incarnation set in Italy featured a cast consisting of Scott Glenn, Joe Pesci, Jonathan Pryce, and Danny Aiello. One of the next key moves on the part of the creative team is finding the right actor to play the role of Creasy along with the young primary he’s expected to protect from would-be kidnappers.