Dimension Films has announced that they have acquired the rights to the English-language remake of one of the highest grossing Korean films ever. The Man from Nowhere was South Korea's biggest box office generator of 2010 and spent five straight weeks atop the ranks of ticket sales. Directed by Jeong-boem Lee and starring Bin Won and Sae-ron Kim, the film followed a mild-mannered pawnshop owner who finds himself going back to his bloody and violent roots to protect a little girl from an organ-trafficking ring. Dimension Films has tapped Shawn Christensen (Abduction) to pen the new script. Hit the jump to check out the synopsis and trailer for the original The Man from Nowhere.

Bob Weinstein of The Weinstein Co. commented on acquiring the remake rights to The Man from Nowhere:

“We have always been huge action and martial arts fans and are getting back into the genre in a big way with The Man from Nowhere. It’s a slick, fast-paced action thriller anchored by a strong emotional relationship that audiences are going to love."

Christensen also commented on the opportunity to pen the rewrite:

“I am excited and honored to work alongside Bob and the team at Dimension. I’m a huge fan of the original The Man From Nowhere, and look forward to bringing it to American audiences.”

Here's the official synopsis for The Man from Nowhere (via HeyUGuys), followed by the film's trailer:

Scarred by traumatic events resulting from his past, former special agent Tae-shik (Bin Won) lives in solitude running a pawnshop in a rundown neighbourhood. His only contact with the world is through his customers and his next-door neighbours, a young girl named So-mi (Sae-ron Kim) and her mother, an exotic club dancer and drug addict. Neglected by her mother and shunned by the kids at school, So-mi gradually forms a bond of friendship with the loner Tae-shik.

But one day, So-mi and her mother disappear. When it becomes apparent that mobsters connected to So-mi’s mother’s drug dealing have kidnapped them, Tae-shik is forced to leave his private sanctuary and to go out into the world in search of his one and only friend. In a bid to ensure So-mi’s safety, Tae-shik agrees to perform a one-off job for the gangsters holding the girl. The job turns out to be a set-up that makes him the target of both a rival gang and of an intense police manhunt. On the run from both sides of the law, and risking him life every step of the way, Tae-shik moves ever closer to discovering So-mi’s whereabouts, but in doing so, he also risks revealing the hidden secrets of his past…