Responses

BL, yes. Noir in queer/gay movies is pretty rare anyways (I mean the ones where queers aren't victims or caricaturistic villains).
A reformed assassin gay romance plot would be the next masterpiece if done right, esp since the director is already planning to kill the assassin at the end. I see an Oscar in his future.
The director is just eating this up. True embodiment of the fandom. He's definitely still casting him