In a deal that effectively signaled the end of the Cannes market’s biggest bidding war, Warner Bros’ new specialty label Clockwork has walked away with the North American rights to The Brigands of Rattlecreek. Pegged in the mid-teen millions, the move marks a significant stake in the ground for a division clearly aiming to back major filmmakers with the kind of resources usually reserved for summer blockbusters.
The project brings together helmer Park Chan-wook – currently serving as the Cannes jury president – and a notoriously tough script by S. Craig Zahler (Bone Tomahawk). While the setting is the American West, the DNA of the story is vintage Park: a sheriff and a doctor tracking a gang of bandits who use a torrential storm to mask their terrorizing of a small town.
The cast list is a genuine embarrassment of riches. Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey and Austin Butler lead a stellar ensemble that includes Pedro Pascal and Tang Wei, the latter of whom starred in Park’s superb Decision to Leave.
With a budget estimated at $60 million, the film represents a significant commitment for Clockwork, a label led by former Neon executive Christian Parkes, which is quickly defining its identity through high-profile collaborations. The division’s current slate already includes Sean Baker’s upcoming Ti Amo! and a 4K restoration of Ken Russell’s The Devils, which is set for a theatrical re-release this October.
The road to production has been anything but short. The script has spent over twenty years drifting between studios, including Amazon and the main Warner Bros arm, with Park himself having chased it for a decade. Having now made his own revisions on Zahler’s original draft, Park is finally set to start filming in early 2027.
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