Last year it was announced that The Raid and Apostle director Gareth Evans is working on a TV series entitled Gangs of London, and now Deadline is reporting that the project has found its two leads in Joe Cole (A Prayer Before Dawn) and Sope Dirisu (Humans).
Created by Evans and his regular cinematographer Matt Flannery, Gangs of London “is set in contemporary London as it is being torn apart by power struggles involving several international gangs [and] begins as the head of one criminal gang is assassinated and the power vacuum threatens the fragile peace between the other underworld organizations.”
In addition to Cole and Dirisu, the series is also set to feature Lucian Msamati (Black Earth Rising), Michelle Fairley (Game of Thrones), Mark Lewis Jones (Star Wars: The Last Jedi), Narges Rashidi (The Girlfriend Experience), Jing Lusi (Crazy Rich Asians), Pippa Bennett-Warner (Harlots), Brian Vernel (Dunkirk), Orli Shuka (War Machine), Richard Harrington (Poldark), Jude Akuwidike (Beasts of No Nation) and Emmett J Scanlan (Peaky Blinders).
Evans will direct the majority of the episodes of Gangs of London, although Corin Hardy (The Nun) is also on board to helm three episodes, with Xavier Gens (Hitman) also directing two. It is slated to premiere in 2019.