Deadline reports that Warner Bros. has picked up the rights to Don Winslow's novel Satori as a starring vehicle for Leonardo DiCaprio. Leo will play Nicholai Hel, a Westerner raised in Japan and taught an assassin’s skills, who gets caught up in the chaos of post-WWII as the U.S., Soviet Union, France and China maneuver for power in Southeast Asia in the early 1950s. Shane Salerno will write the film's script with DiCaprio's Appain Way producing. Winslow's other book Savages was also developed into a film by Shane. Directed by Oliver Stone, it stars Aaron Johnson, Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Benicio Del Toro, John Travolta, Salma Hayek and Emile Hirsch.Satori has potiential to be DiCaprio's first jump into the world of franchises. It seems like a decent mix between old school-Bond meets George Smiley (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) meets Jason Bourne. Knowing DiCaprio he wouldn't jump into this kind of project unless a talented director ended up making it. The only issue is that DiCaprio has attached himself to projects like this in the past like with Beat The Reaper and The Chaser remake but have never been made.
