One of those films that sounded cool but then appeared doomed to wander the halls of Development Hell has just popped its head out again, and nabbed a release date in the process. Cowboy Ninja Viking, with Chris Pratt still attached to star, is now aiming to arrive in June 2019.
For those who haven't heard of the project, it'll adapt a comic book, which really shouldn't surprise anyone given the title. Created by writer A. J. Lieberman and artist Riley Rossmo, Cowboy Ninja Viking is an Image Comics series about secret counter-intelligence agents with multiple personality disorders. Various suitable candidates for the 'Triplet' programme were brought together by psychotherapist Dr. Sebastian Ghislain, but when the project collapsed, the subjects went their own ways as hired assassins.
Pratt's Duncan then, just to be clear, will not be an actual Cowboy Ninja Viking: those are the personality types that have been corralled in his mind for maximum effectiveness, though his on-screen appearance may shift to indicate which he's using.
In its time, the film has attracted potential directors including John Wick duo David Leitch and Chad Stahelski and World War Z's Marc Forster, but it's currently without anyone in the big chair. Universal is currently on the hunt for someone new so that the film can hit that date. Naturally, we'd caution that it's the US release, but the film may end up day and date in the UK.