Pirates of the Caribbean star Orlando Bloom is preparing to venture into the jungle. Protagonist Pictures has just opened pre-sales for the new thriller The Last of the Tribe and announced that the actor would be coming aboard the Amazon-set film. He’s set to share the screen with the Oscar-nominated Ethan Hawke, who was confirmed to star in the project back in 2024 with Brazilian actress and environmental activist Zaya Guarani, previously seen in Darren Aronofsky‘s sci-fi documentary Postcards From Earth. At this time, it’s unknown what role Bloom will take up in the adaptation of award-winning investigative journalist Monte Reel‘s book of the same name.
What is known, however, is that Hawke will take the lead in The Last of the Tribe as William Phelan, a washed-out Chicago cop now working as a corporate mercenary. His latest job sends him to the Amazon rainforest to investigate a mysterious death, where he encounters the last surviving member of an indigenous tribe. The momentous discovery forces Phelan to reflect on his actions and who he ultimately wants to be. With danger running high and corporate and government interests looming, he’s left with a harrowing choice to either complete his mission and continue down his current path or redeem himself by saving a life.
Claudio Borrelli will direct the jungle thriller, marking just his second feature film behind the camera after the 2020 Portuguese drama Vultures. He’s working with a screenplay by three-time Emmy nominee Mark Bailey, best known for co-writing documentaries like Downfall: The Case Against Boeing and The Volcano: Rescue From Whakaari. Backing the project, meanwhile, is Oscar-winning The Silence of the Lambs producer Edward Saxon, who will lend his weight to a production team also featuring Steve Schwartz and Paula Mae Schwartz for Chockstone Pictures, Bailey, and both Ethan and Ryan Hawke. “I’m drawn to films that slam the raw, the rugged and the cruel head-on into the beautiful and the divine,” Borrelli said in a statement about why he wanted to make The Last of the Tribe. “In this story, the rainforest is both the villain and the savior — that natural and forever conflict is the essence of what I want to capture in The Last of the Tribe.”
What Else Has Orlando Bloom Been Busy With Lately
Bloom remains best known for his franchise work, whether for swashbuckling as Will Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean or slinging arrows as Legolas in The Lord of the Rings. More recently, though, he’s been tackling a wider range of smaller features. Just last year, he found success sharing the screen with Bryce Dallas Howard and Nick Mohammed in Prime Video‘s riotous action comedy Deep Cover. He’s also shown his action chops in the gritty Red Right Hand and taken on a more haunting role as an aged boxer doing anything in his power to return to the ring in the thriller The Cut. Between him and Hawke, who recently earned another Oscar nomination for his role in Richard Linklater‘s Blue Moon, The Last of the Tribe has a couple of flashy names to lean on as it looks for a buyer.
Dave Bishop, the CEO of Protagonist Pictures, called the stars’ team-up an “intense, propulsive thriller with real moral weight at its core” in a separate statement, highlighting what he believes is a timely story elevated by its cast and director. “Set deep in the Brazilian Amazon, the project pairs elevated genre storytelling with urgent contemporary themes. Claudio has crafted a bold vision, and with Ethan Hawke, Orlando Bloom, and Zaya Guarani leading the cast, we’re excited to introduce this standout project to buyers at EFM.” The producers struck a similar tone in their joint statement, hailing the entire team for their vision, anchored by Hawke and Bloom:
“The Last of the Tribe is a tense, gripping, edge-of-your-seat thriller, a real old-school heart-pounding ride. And yet, it is also about something that could not be more timely – the destruction of the rainforest and the people who call it home. Our fantastic cast, spearheaded by the extraordinary Ethan Hawke, and now joined by Bloom, are all so smart, and passionate, and talented and committed to the telling of this story. We are thrilled.”
The Last of the Tribe has no release date yet.
via Collider