The Force Novel Cover

Fresh off the runaway success of Logan, James Mangold will man the director's chair for forthcoming movie The Force, which is now set for release in March 2019. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Don Winslow and despite only being released earlier this month, the book has already achieved bestseller status and has been met with a glut of praise from critics and fellow authors such as Stephen King (who compared the novel to Mario Puzo's The Godfather).

The Force tells the story of New York Police Sergeant Denny Malone, who heads up an elite task force designated with the job of battling organized crime within the city. However, Malone himself is dirty, taking cuts from cash and drugs seized during police operations. As the FBI closes in on Malone, he must find a way to protect himself and those around him - but must also deal with dangerously-high racial tensions within the city that threaten to explode at any minute.

Fox has now announced (via ERC) that The Force has been set a release date of March 1st 2019 and Logan's James Mangold will be directing, with David Mamet on screenplay duties. The movie is being produced by the trio of Ridley Scott, Shane Salerno and Kevin Walsh. No news yet on any casting specifics.

The Force's March 2019 release date does pit the movie against some very stiff cinematic competition. Also slated for release that same day is DreamWorks' How To Train Your Dragon 3, which continues the much-loved fantasy animation franchise. Later that month, the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Captain Marvel, starring Brie Larson, hits the big screen and all eyes will be on the studio's first female superhero-fronted solo superhero movie.

This isn't the first time that Mangold has ventured into the world of crime, as one of the director's early full-length features was Cop Land - which strangely enough, was also centered around the subject of corrupt New York City police officers. As such, Mangold has plenty of experience in bringing such tales to life - and although Cop Land wasn't a huge smash hit, the director's increased profile and accumulated experience since then means that The Force has a great chance of being a success.

With that said, Mangold's most recognized pictures have had a prominent Western theme either in the cinematography, story or both and it's the likes of 3:10 To Yuma, Walk The Line and indeed, Logan that have arguably made the biggest splash. It'll be interesting to see whether such themes will find their way into The Force, too.

NEXT: James Mangold Explains His Vision for a X-23 Movie

Source: 20th Century Fox (via ERC)