David Harbour May Star in Kane & Lynch Film

The gritty crime thriller Kane & Lynch, originally developed by Hitman creators IO Interactive in 2007, spent years flirting with Hollywood adaptation - going through various high-profile casting iterations before fading into development hell.

Indonesian filmmaker Timo Tjahjanto (Nobody 2) recently revealed on social media that he once pitched a vision for the adaptation starring David Harbour - better known as Stranger Things' gruff police chief or Marvel's Red Guardian.

"During the property's peak buzz years, I drafted a treatment envisioning James Badge Dale and Harbour in the leads," Tjahjanto shared. "Sadly it never gained traction."

Tjahjanto can take small comfort knowing his treatment joined countless other abandoned takes on the material. Over the years, the project cycled through various A-list pairings:

• Bruce Willis and Jamie Foxx originally signed on before creative differences and script rewrites scuttled their involvement
• Later versions reportedly considered tough-guy duo Gerard Butler and Vin Diesel for the lead roles

The franchise's cinematic hopes effectively died after 2010's underwhelming sequel Dog Days - prompting IO Interactive to refocus exclusively on the Hitman series that made their reputation.