A hot action movie package is coming together at Netflix, multiple sources told Variety, one roughly 33 years in the making.
“Reacher” and “War Machine” star Alan Ritchson is in negotiations to topline “Maelstrom,” a spec originally sold to Warner Bros. in 1993 by prolific producer Jeff Robinov when he was an agent. Jaume Collet-Serra, helmer of Netflix’s top-rated original film “Carry-On,” will direct.
The film follows a Federal Marshall guarding the fiancée of an arms dealer seeking witness protection. Events unfold over the course of one evening as a hurricane rolls in, blocking outside communication and preventing reinforcements from arriving. Together they must fight to survive the onslaught of men working for the arms dealer, as well as the escalating elements of the natural disaster raging outside.
Screenwriter Mark Bianculli (“How to Rob a Bank”) was tapped to refresh the script and modernize its characters, from a first draft by late writer Gregory Fitzpatrick. The project will be the first big offering in Netflix’s deal with Robinov’s Talking Pictures banner. The former president of Warner Bros. Pictures has shepherded billion-dollar franchises like “The Dark Knight” trilogy and “The Hangover” films.
At Netflix, “Maelstrom” found a path back to the screen thanks to the success of “Carry-On.” That Jason Bateman title spent 11 years dormant before Netflix’s Ori Marmur dusted it off and attached big talent, including director Collet-Serra, sending it to the third most viewed film of all time at the streamer. Marmur and team subsequently put a call out to top producers for their best unmade projects with high-concept hooks, reanimating “Maelstrom” with Netflix development executive Kira Cousineau.
Reps for Ritchson and Collet-Serra had no immediate comment on the matter. A rep for Netflix declined to comment.
Ritchson’s profile has exploded since the advent of his hit Prime Video series “Reacher,” where the tree-sized actor plays a retired military police officer on the run for a murder he didn’t commit. He is repped by WME, Rich Cook at Range Media Partners, Shelter PR, and Hansen Jacobson Teller. Collet-Serra is repped by Scott Greenberg at LBI.
