Although we’ve only seen one film from the duo, one of the more promising director-actor relationships has been Nicolas Winding Refn and Ryan Gosling. After teaming for Drive, they headed to Thailand to shoot Only God Forgives last year (more on that later) and then were setting the stage for their biggest project yet, a new Logan’s Run. Unfortunately, now, it looks like we’ll have to count out one less film from the duo, as Variety’s Justin Kroll reports that Gosling has dropped the project. Check out his tweet below.

The sci-fi story has some major writing talent as Alex Garland (Never Let Me Go) turned in an initial draft, while Will Beall (The Gangster Squad) followed that up with his input and then relative newcomer Andrew Baldwin took the latest pass. Although no reason was given why Gosling dropped one only needs to look at his upcoming schedule. Refn will likely be freed up to shoot his next project in 2013, but Gosling has already committed  to a spring shoot for his directorial debut — something that could easily take up most of the year for him.

On the more positive side, it looks like we’ll finally know when his Thai boxing thriller Only God Forgives will be completed, as the director recently spoke with the French outlet leJDD. He confirmed he would give himself to this December to “fine-tune” the film. As we know, the Weinstein offshoot Radius-TWC plans to give the film, starring Gosling and Kristen Scott Thomas, a vague 2013 release including VOD and theatrical, so we’ll have to see when exactly that is.

Perhaps a Cannes debut is in store, after Drive succeeded there — or perhaps even Sundance or Berlin. I can only provide a rough translation, but Refn also added he may be interested in staying in Thailand and doing “a thriller with Yakuza.” With a stack of other projects lined up, we’ll have to wait and see, but in the meantime, check out a synopsis of Forgives below.

Julian (Gosling) lives in exile in Bangkok where he runs a Thai boxing club as a front for the family’s drugs smuggling operation. When Julian’s brother Billy is killed their mother, Jenna (Kristen Scott Thomas), arrives in the city. She wants revenge and forces Julian to find the killer. Julian’s contacts in the criminal underworld lead him directly to The Angel of Vengeance, a retired police officer who knows everything and who is both Judge and Punisher. Jenna demands that Julian kill The Angel of Vengeance, an act that will cost him dearly.

Only God Forgives will be released in 2013.

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