One of my favorite films this year was Nicolas Winding Refn’s drama Drive. The genre pic was a breath of fresh air in an environment filled with generic bang ‘em up action movies, and features some fantastic performances from a top-notch cast (Albert Brooks is picking up considerable awards notice for his villainous turn). What some may not know is that the film is actually based on the crime novel of the same name by James Sallis. The book hit stores in 2005, and now Twitch reports that Sallis’s sequel Driven is aiming for an April 2012 release date.Refn and star Ryan Gosling got along famously during the filming of Drive and are already set to team up for two more projects: Only God Forgives and a remake of Logan’s Run. If Driven is a hit, could the two possibly tackle the sequel in feature film form? Personally, I doubt it, and I’m not really sure the movie Drive begs for a sequel. But if Refn and Gosling decided they had an interesting take on the material, I’d be first in line. Check out a rough draft of the cover as well as a brief teaser synopsis for Driven.Here’s the short teaser synopsis:

"Six years later - Phoenix. Out of nowhere someone wants Driver dead. Who? Why? Big mistake..."

Here's the rough draft of the novel's cover art (via Twitch):