Black Bear has announced that acclaimed director Ric Roman Waugh (Greenland, Angel Has Fallen) will direct the previously announced untitled Jason Statham (The Beekeeper, The Meg, Fast & Furious franchise) action thriller, and revealed an electrifying ensemble cast, with the addition of Bodhi Rae Breathnach (upcoming Hamnet), Bill Nighy (Living, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, About Time), Naomi Ackie (Blink Twice, Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody, upcoming Mickey 17), and Daniel Mays (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, 1917, The Bank Job). The plot is being kept under wraps and the film is based on a script penned by Ward Parry with revisions by Christian Contreras and Parry.
Principal photography is underway this week in the UK and Ireland. Black Bear introduced the film to the market in Cannes last year and co-represents the U.S. rights alongside Range Select.
Ric Roman Waugh is known for his gritty, high-stakes filmmaking style. He gained widespread recognition with the 2013 film Snitch, starring Dwayne Johnson, and solidified his reputation with the success of Angel Has Fallen, the third installment in Gerard Butler’s Fallen action series. Waugh’s disaster film Greenland, also starring Butler, cemented Waugh as a leading voice in contemporary action cinema, and he recently wrapped the sequel, Greenland: Migration.
Producers on the picture include Statham (A Working Man, The Beekeeper) for Punch Palace Productions, John Friedberg (The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, Ferrari) for Black Bear, Brendon Boyea (Kandahar) for Cinemachine, and Jon Berg (Wonder Woman, Dr. Sleep, Aquaman) and Greg Silverman, former President of Creative Development and Worldwide Production for Warner Bros., for Stampede Ventures. Teddy Schwarzman and Michael Heimler will serve as Executive Producers for Black Bear.
Breakout young star Bodhi Rae Breathnach starred in the BBC crime thriller series, “The Capture.” Her first film role will be opposite Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley in Chloe Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s award-winning novel Hamnet, produced by Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendes.
Oscar® nominee Bill Nighy is an iconic British actor whose career spans over five decades. Nighy rose to international fame with his role in Love Actually, for which he won a BAFTA, and solidified his status as a beloved screen presence in films including About Time, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and Living, which earned him an Academy Award® nomination.
BAFTA winner Naomi Ackie gained significant recognition for her breakthrough role in Lady Macbeth, where her performance as a strong-willed servant garnered acclaim. Ackie further showcased her range in projects like Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, where she played Jannah. Ackie’s performance as Whitney Houston in Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody was widely praised and she recently starred in Zoë Kravitz’s feature directorial debut Blink Twice, alongside Channing Tatum. She will next appear in the highly anticipated Mickey 17 from acclaimed director Bong Joon Ho, as well as The Thursday Murder Club for Chris Columbus, Boots Riley’s comedy I Love Boosters, and Eva Victor’s Sorry, Baby, which just premiered at Sundance where it was bought by A24.
BAFTA nominee Daniel Mays gained early recognition for his role in the hit film Made in Dagenham, which showcased his versatility in a compelling ensemble. Mays’ career spans a wide range of genres across film and television, from hard-hitting dramas like “Line of Duty” and “Red Riding” to action-packed films such as The Bank Job and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Jason Statham is one of the most in demand actors working in Hollywood today. His latest film The Beekeeper, directed by David Ayer, has so far grossed over $150 million at the global box office. He is currently reteaming with Ayer, shooting action-thriller A Working Man for Black Bear, Punch Palace, and Cedar Park Entertainment, and recently wrapped production on Mutiny with Jean-Francois Richet for Mad River in September. Statham’s films have taken over $8 billion worldwide.
Waugh is represented by Range Media Partners and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole. Breathnach is repped by The Artists Partnership. Nighy is repped by Independent Talent Group, UTA, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner Auerbach Hynick Jaime LeVine Sample & Klein. Ackie is represented by CAA, Hamilton Hodell, Range Media Partners, and Peikoff Mahan Law Office. Mays is repped by Curtis Brown Group, UTA, and Goodman Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher. Statham is represented by Patrick Knapp.
Black Bear’s upcoming slate includes Train Dreams which just launched at Sundance where it sold to Netflix; The Rivals of Amziah King starring Matthew McConaughey; Guy Ritchie’s Wife & Dog, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Rosamund Pike and Anthony Hopkins; Leo Woodall and Dustin Hoffman heist thriller, Tuner; Joseph Gordon-Levitt genre film Pendulum from Black Swan writer, Mark Heyman; David Michôd’s untitled Christy Martin film starring Sydney Sweeney as the champion boxer; and Gregg Araki’s provocative thriller, I Want Your Sex, starring Olivia Wilde.
