Just days after Alan Ritchson set his next big role in Scott Waugh‘s Runner, the Reacher star has landed yet another action film to add to his schedule. He’s now set to lead and produce Painter, a new title from FilmNation Entertainment‘s production label Infrared, featuring the mountainous man opposite Prey standout Amber Midthunder. The hope is for the film to be a potential franchise starter with Midthunder as the lead and John Wick and Nobody writer Derek Kolstad penning the screenplay. Garrett Warren, who has been best known for his stunt work on Logan , Avatar, and Road House, will direct.
FilmNation is set to launch sales for Painter at the upcoming American Film Market, where it’s expected to draw a lot of attention thanks to the big-name talent already attached. The film is set to follow a young woman who, after being trained from a young age, must put all of her skills to use when her father is kidnapped. Further speaking about the ambition of the project, Infrared‘s President of Production Drew Simon was enthusiastic when expressing his hopes of giving Midthunder her own franchise a la Terminator. “Painter will be a seminal action hero film, making Midthunder into this generation’s Sarah Connor,” he said. “We loved Kolstad’s high-octane script, and we know with Garrett Warren at the helm this film will kickstart an exciting new franchise in the world of action.”
This won’t be Midthunder‘s first rodeo with Infrared. She’s set to co-star in their first completed feature, a thriller titled Novocaine with Jack Quaid, in 2025 after Paramount acquired it for release. The production company sees the potential for much more though, especially after Prey showed she could be a killer action lead within an already-established and beloved franchise. Her star has risen considerably since her clash with the Predator as she’s since appeared in Netflix‘s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender as Princess Yue, Sydney Freeland‘s Rez Ball, and the Nicolas Cage-led Dream Scenario. Ritchson will be the perfect screen partner for her as his own action star rises between the widely-loved Reacher, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, and much more on the horizon.
Who Else Is Involved in ‘Painter’?
Ritchson, Simon, and Kolstad are joined as producers on Painter by Josh Adler and Dan Spilo. Although its Infrared production wing won’t begin to bear fruit with original movies until next year, FilmNation still has big things to keep an eye on this year. Two of the biggest critical darlings of 2024, Edward Berger‘s papal political thriller Conclave and Sean Baker‘s Palme d’Or-winning romantic comedy-drama Anora, were produced under the company. FilmNation also helped with sales on Mike Flanagan‘s festival favorite The Life of Chuck, which Neon acquired for release next summer. With such a track record of success, there’s hope that the company can land a major original success with Painter whenever it releases.
Stay tuned here at Collider for more on Painter as it comes out.
via Collider
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