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Fast & Furious Actor Sung Kang Is 'Trying' to Direct Initial D Film

Fast & Furious actor Sung Kang has dropped that he's revving up to bring another street-racing franchise to the silver screen. In conversation with the South China Morning Post newspaper last month, Kang revealed that he has two new possible projects lined up, one of which is a live-action film adaptation of Shūichi Shigeno's Initial D manga.

While the project is not yet green-lit, the actor stated on his Car Stories podcast that he is working on developing the film and is "trying" to direct it.

Kang told the South China Morning Post that the film will be "about cars and drifting and cool things like that. Almost a Rocky or Karate Kid. A fun, big-budget movie that expresses my love affair for cars.” If green-lit, the film would be Kang's third project as a director.

Shigeno launched the original manga in Kodansha's Young Magazine in July 1995. The anime adaptation of the manga came out in 1998 and later spawned multiple OVAs (original video anime) and films. Kodansha USA will launch a new omnibus of the manga featuring new translation and lettering in Spring 2024. The manga already inspired a 2005 live-action film, directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, and starring Jay Chou and Anne Suzuki.

Sources: South China Morning Post, Car Stories podcast via Ryokuta, Drive