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.
