Maniac Cop Prequel Moving Forward?

Maniac Cop director William Lustig and writer Larry Cohen are working on a new Maniac Cop movie, with Drive's Nicolas Winding Refn expected to come on board as a producer. While talking to Daily Grindhouse, Larry Cohen had the following to say:

“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... 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.”

The article said that the movie would still keep the feel of the first three film, but will have a bigger budget. While the project is moving forward, William Lustig mentioned that the project isn't 100% signed off on at this time.  For those of you who haven't seen the 1988 film, it stars Bruce Campbell and Tom Atkins, and was released on Blu-ray late last year. Here is the official synopsis:

"Innocent people are brutally killed on the streets of New York by a uniformed police officer. A young cop, Jack Forrest (Bruce Campbell, TV’s BURN NOTICE and the EVIL DEAD trilogy), finds himself marked as the chief suspect after his wife is murdered. As Lieutenant Frank McCrae (Tom Atkins, DRIVE ANGRY and LETHAL WEAPON) investigates, the death toll rises and he suspects a mysterious police cover-up. This “maniac” cop must be stopped, but it might not be so easy. He seems inhuman, and ready to take on the entire police force, hell-bent on revenge!"