Following his directorial debut with the film Shaky Shivers — a comedic horror set in Northern California — actor-turned-director Sung Kang has revealed two more projects that he's currently helming. And one of them should be quite appealing to fans of the Fast & Furious franchise.
Kang, who starred as Han Lue in the Fast & Furious franchise, revealed to the South China Morning Post that he is directing an adaptation of Shuichi Shigeno's Initial D manga. For those who are unfamiliar with the manga, Kang explained it in the most basic of ways: "It's about cars and drifting and cool things like that."
"Almost a Rocky or Karate Kid," he added. "A fun, big-budget movie that expresses my love affair for cars."
More specifically, Initial D is a manga series written and illustrated by Shuichi Shigeno that takes us into the world of illegal Japanese street racing. The story follows teenage high schooler Takumi Fujiwara whose job as a tofu delivery boy has helped turn him into one of the most formidable drivers around.
Behind the wheel of his father's Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno — sold as the Corolla Sprinter in North America in the '80s — Takumi's driving skills begin to draw the attention of the underground street racing world. With drivers from across the region lining up for a shot at the new guy, Takumi sets out to prove he's the best.
What sets Initial D apart from others is its emphasis on drifting, a driving technique where the driver intentionally oversteers, resulting in a loss of traction, while maintaining control of the car through the corner or turn. While Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift introduced the concept of drifting to worldwide audiences, the driving technique was popularized in Japan in the 1970s, with the Initial D manga contributing to its popularity. Kang's role in Tokyo Drift helped rekindle the actor-turned-director's love of cars.
The Initial D manga was published between 1995 and 2013, with more than 55 million copies in circulation. It has seen numerous adaptations, including cartoon and live-action television series and films. There have also been dozens of video games based on it.
It's unclear how long we'll have to wait for Kang's Initial D adaptation to be formally announced, but in the meantime, all four seasons of the 1998 Initial D anime series can be found on Funimation. Netflix is also home to the 2005 live-action movie starring Jay Chou, Anne Suzuki and Edison Chen.