He's directed drug-dealers in Pusher, an infamous inmate in Bronson, a Norse warrior in Valhalla Rising and a stunt driver in Drive...what's left for Nicolas Winding Refn? How about producing (and possibly directing) the prequel of 1980s cult horror movie, Maniac Cop?  If you're not familiar with the original (which featured Bruce Campbell), the premise centered on a lunatic in a police uniform that was randomly killing people in New York.  The original writer/director pair of Larry Cohen and William Lustig are back on board as producers and reports have it that Refn has recently signed on with them.  Hit the jump for more on the project and Refn's involvement.

In an interview with Daily Grindhouse (via Badass Digest), Cohen and Lusting talked about bringing Refn on board:

“It’s going to be more a prequel than anything else, I am really excited to come back to this world especially since Nick is going to be a part of it” said Cohen. “Nick (Winding Refn) has been talking to us about it for a while now and I had an idea that would work so we’re going to do it.” Cohen said that the film will still maintain the noir-ish comic book feel of the first three films but “with a bigger budget than the others have had.”

Lustig also said that “the project isn’t 100% signed off on but it’s pretty close.”  This could be an interesting project for Refn and is definitely one to keep an eye on. Check out the trailer and poster for the original Maniac Cop below: