A cinematic adaptation of the original Kane & Lynch game, originally developed by Hitman creator IO Interactive in 2007, spent years in development hell with various A-list actors being attached at different points.

Director Timo Tjahjanto (Nobody 2) recently took to social media to reveal he'd written a treatment for a potential Kane & Lynch film starring David Harbour - famously known as Stranger Things' Jim Hopper and Red Guardian in the Thunderbolts/New Avengers films.

"Never saw a script, but a few years back when the property still had heat, I drafted a short treatment envisioning James Badge Dale and David Harbour in the leads," Tjahjanto shared. "It never went anywhere."

Tjahjanto can at least take comfort that his treatment - typically an outline studios use when developing scripts - was among numerous unrealized attempts to adapt Kane & Lynch for the big screen.

For years, Bruce Willis and Jamie Foxx were attached to star, with both eventually leaving as the script underwent repeated rewrites.

Reportedly, another iteration of the project later considered Gerard Butler and Vin Diesel for the lead roles, though this version also failed to materialize.

Ultimately, following the lukewarm reception to 2010's Kane & Lynch: Dog Days sequel, IO Interactive shifted focus entirely to its Hitman franchise, leaving the troubled film adaptation permanently in limbo.