Mads Mikkelsen is set to come back to Netflix’s Polar universe with the upcoming spy thriller The Black Kaiser. While we still don’t know for sure how the two films are connected, they both are adaptations of the Polar webcomic series by Spanish cartoonist Victor Santos.
The Black Kaiser will adapt a graphic novel of the same name that unites the first arc of Santos’ Polar webcomic series. The film’s title refers to the world’s greatest assassin (Mikkelsen), who uncovers a deadly conspiracy protecting a syndicate of killers and becomes the number one target for several killers. The story is set before the events of Polar: Came From the Cold, the second graphic novel in the series, which was used as inspiration for Netflix’s Polar.
Besides bringing Mikkelsen back as the deadly titular assassin, The Black Kaiser also sees the return of Polar’s director Jonas Åkerlund and writer Jayson Rothwell. This time around, Rothwell shares scriptwriting duties with Mikkelsen himself. Producers Jeremy Bolt and Robert Kulzer are also jumping from Polar to The Black Kaiser. So, with the main cast and crew banding together for another adaptation of the Polar universe, we’re bound to get the same bloody and exhilarating experience the Netflix movie offers.
After bringing Netflix’s Polar to life, productions companies Constantin Film, JB Pictures, and Dark Horse Entertainment join forces for The Black Kaiser. The film is executive produced by Martin Moszkowicz, Mike Richardson, Keith Goldberg, and Mikkelsen.
The Black Kaiser is heading to market at Cannes, where it will most certainly find a suitable distributor, be it Netflix once again or another party. Polar aired to over 130 million Netflix subscribers and became the most popular movie in iMDB’s Movie Meter for over two weeks, so it shouldn’t be hard for The Black Kaiser to grab the attention of multiple buyers.
Commenting on The Black Kaiser announcement, Bolt said:
“We are very excited to be working with the brilliant Mads Mikkelsen and the visionary Jonas Akerlund on what will be an explosive, action-packed, funny, unexpected, and little insane and emotional journey.”
Mads Mikkelsen is mostly known for his villain roles in Casino Royale and the series Hannibal. However, films such as Another Round and Arctic highlight the dramatic scope of Mikkelsen and attest to the Danish star's outstanding work. Mikkelsen has recently appeared in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore and will be seen next in Indiana Jones 5. Mikkelsen has also appeared in two of the biggest Hollywood franchise, with roles in Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Doctor Strange and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.