Universal Pictures has secured the feature remake rights to the 2012 South Korean thriller Confession of Murder, with screenwriter Chris MacBride set to adapt the film for English-language audiences.
Glen Powell and Dan Cohen will produce through their company Barnstorm, alongside Naomi Funabashi and Rishi Rajani of Winged Tiger. Universal executive Christine Sun will oversee the project for the studio, while Barnstorm’s Jacquelina Rosso will serve as co-producer.
Directed by Jung Byung-gil, the original Confession of Murder centres on an investigation reignited when a suspected serial killer publishes a book recounting murders for which he can no longer be prosecuted. The film starred Jung Jae-young and was produced by B.A. Entertainment CEO Billy Acumen. Although not confirmed, sources indicate Acumen may also be involved in the remake.
Details of MacBride’s take on the story have not been disclosed.
Barnstorm, which Powell and Cohen launched in 2025, is currently in post-production on The Comeback King. The Judd Apatow-directed film stars Powell and was co-written by Powell and Apatow, with a February 55 release planned. The company’s Hulu comedy series Chad Powers is also debuting its second season this week.
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The company is additionally developing a Lou Gehrig biopic at Universal, based on a pitch by Simon Rich. The project will reunite Powell with director Richard Linklater.
Funabashi and Rajani have worked on acclaimed independent titles including A Thousand and One and The Forty-Year-Old Version, as well as the Emmy-nominated documentary Being Mary Tyler Moore and Disney+ film Chang Can Dunk.
MacBride recently sold his feature pitch Kingmakers to Netflix, where 21 Laps and Story Kitchen are producing an adaptation based on an upcoming strategy sandbox game. His recent work also includes the action thriller The Wolf for Amazon MGM Studios and Lorenzo di Bonaventura, a rewrite of Paramount’s Face/Off 2, and the original psychological thriller Echo, which Searchlight is developing with Chad Hartigan attached to direct.
Powell and Barnstorm are represented by CAA and JSSK. Winged Tiger is represented by Anita Surendran at Granderson Des Rochers, while MacBride is represented by CAA and Range.
