David Harbour Eyed for Kane & Lynch Film, Tied to Stranger Things, Thunderbolts

A grand, big-screen adaptation of the original Kane & Lynch game—developed by IO Interactive, the studio behind the Hitman series—was once a highly anticipated Hollywood prospect. Over the years, numerous actors were linked to the project, generating waves of excitement and speculation among fans of the 2007 title.

Recently, director Timo Tjahjanto (known for The Night Comes for Us and Nobody 2) took to social media to reveal that he had penned a treatment for the film, with none other than David Harbour—star of Stranger Things and Marvel’s Thunderbolts/New Avengers—in mind for a lead role. “Never seen a script, but a couple years ago when that property was still kinda shit hot, I wrote a short treatment with James Badge Dale and David Harbour in mind,” Tjahjanto shared. Unfortunately, like so many iterations before it, this version never moved forward.

The Kane & Lynch movie feels permanently stalled. Photo by Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images.

Tjahjanto isn’t alone in seeing his vision for the franchise fade into obscurity. The Kane & Lynch film has been stuck in development hell for well over a decade. At one point, Bruce Willis and Jamie Foxx were attached to star—but both eventually dropped out as the screenplay underwent multiple rewrites.

Later, reports surfaced that Gerard Butler and Vin Diesel were being considered for the titular roles, yet that version also failed to materialize.

Ultimately, after the lukewarm reception of Kane & Lynch: Dog Days in 2010, IO Interactive distanced itself from the franchise, shifting its full focus back to the Hitman series, where it found renewed success.

For now, any cinematic take on Kane & Lynch remains just another unrealized idea in Hollywood’s long line of what-ifs.