Cannes, France (May 13, 2026) – Asia’s new generation action hero Eddie Peng (The Great Wall, Black Dog, Are You Lonesome Tonight?) and Ewan Mitchell (Saltburn, Wuthering Heights, House of the Dragon), star in The Healer along with Smylie Bradwell (Hamnet, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping), Georgina Beedle (Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) and Jameela Jamil (The Good Place, People We Meet on Vacation), it was announced today by producer Molly Hassell. The film is written and directed by Can Aydin, one of the industry’s top action stunt coordinators and second unit directors from films including Thunderbolts*, The Fall Guy, and Disney’s ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ series. The Healer marks his feature directorial debut.
Hassell (The Crow, Return to Silent Hill, Terminal) produced the actioner for Hassell Free Productions alongside Electric Shadow (Cliffhanger 2, The Uprising), with Jason Eric Laciste (Braven, The Last Manhunt), Dejan Ahrens, and Jonah Greenberg (Cave Rescue). Ahrens was also a major financier of the project through his Marder Films. Additional financing was provided by Vivian Tarn’s and Karam Almasri’s Riviera Content, Taiden Audio-Visual Production Co., and East West Bank, all arranged by Hungary’s Rosebud Finance Kft. The production was undertaken in association with Victor Hadida’s Davis Films.
Jeffrey Chan’s 66cc is handling Asian sales, with Highland Film Group representing all other international rights. CAA Media Finance is handling the US. Sales launch in Cannes. Production recently wrapped in Budapest, Hungary.
In a city governed by shadows, a blind acupuncturist (Eddie Peng) lives a life of quiet ritual, using heightened senses to mend bodies the world has broken. Once a weapon trained to destroy, The Healer traded violence for peace—until Soly (Smylie Bradwell), a young patient he vowed to protect, becomes the target of ruthless gang boss Dandy Lynch (Ewan Mitchell). Carrying the weight of his past, The Healer is forced back into a brutal underworld, fighting with surgical precision and a dangerous knowledge of the human body to reach the boy before he becomes another innocent casualty.
“It’s rare to see two such talented actors go head-to-head – Eddie Peng and Ewan Mitchell are our ‘Crown Jewels,”’ Hassell said. “They give performances that are simply awe-inspiring and well represent what makes this film so unique: great acting combined with a compelling story that audiences around the world are going to love watching.”
“Eddie Peng is a major star, both in Asia and globally. The picture just wrapped shooting, and the early footage we’ve seen looks absolutely incredible!” said Highland Film Group CEO Arianne Fraser. “The fight choreography is impressive, with a scale, cinematic ambition and commercial appeal that will strongly resonate with international audiences.” added Highland COO Delphine Perrier.
“I’m deeply grateful to Molly for inviting me on board and thrilled to be able to re-unite with Eddie after almost a decade since Unbeatable and Operation Mekong,” said Jeffrey Chan. “Having become so successful, Eddie is still the same talented and dedicated young man in The Healer, and this film will surely take him to the next level of success on the international stage.”
Lauded as Asia’s new generation action hero, Eddie Peng starred in Guan Hu’s Black Dog, Un Certain Regard winner at the 77th Cannes Film Festival in 2024. He made his English-language debut in The Great Wall, alongside Matt Damon, Pedro Pascal, and Willem Dafoe. He is very well known in the greater Chinese film industry and beyond, and his many Chinese epic blockbuster credits include Dante Lam’s The Rescue and Operation Mekong, as well as Cold War 2.
Ewan Mitchell portrayed Aemond Targaryen in the Emmy-winning HBO’s fantasy series “House of the Dragon,” the prequel to HBO’s series “Game of Thrones.” He starred in Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn, alongside Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi. Recently, he reunited with director Emerald Fennell and co-stars Jacob Elordi in Warner Bros.’ romance Wuthering Heights, starring Margot Robbie and adapted from Emily Brontë’s classic novel. He is currently filming Justine Triet’s Fonda with Mia Goth, Odessa A’zion, Andrew Scott and Allison Janney.
Peng is repped by Amelia Hung and CAA, and Mitchell by Independent Talent Group and CAA.
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ABOUT HIGHLAND FILM GROUP
Led by founding partners Arianne Fraser and Delphine Perrier, Highland Film Group (HFG) is an award-winning global studio with end-to-end capabilities, driving films from development to release. HFG operates as a producer, financier, distributor and sales agent, with an in-house team that oversees global productions and acquisitions. Launched in 2010, HFG delivers standout films across a wide range of genres and platforms, building a reputation for producing high-octane films in the action, thriller and horror space. In 2020, the studio expanded into U.S. distribution with the successful launch of The Avenue, HFG’s dedicated label managing all release windows, from theatrical through home entertainment to television, SVOD and AVOD.
HFG’s diversified production and sales slate includes William Eubank’s action thriller Land of Bad starring Academy Award® winner Russell Crowe, Liam Hemsworth and Luke Hemsworth released on 1,300 screens in February 2024 and surged to the #1 spot on Netflix in the US; Benjamin Brewer’s survival action-thriller Arcadian starring Academy Award® winner Nicolas Cage, official selection at SXSW; Adam Cooper’s crime thriller Sleeping Dogs starring Russell Crowe and Karen Gillan which took the #1 spot on Hulu in the U.S. last year; Adrian Grünberg’s shark actioner The Black Demon starring Josh Lucas which claimed the #1 spot on Amazon’s streaming rankings for seven consecutive days following its theatrical release in 2023; the sci-fi thriller The Astronaut produced by Brad Fuller and starring Kate Mara and Laurence Fishburne, world premiere at SXSW; Joe Carnahan’s survival thriller Not Without Hope starring Zachary Levi and Josh Duhamel; Adrian Grünberg’s action thriller Protector starring Milla Jovovich and Justin Chadwick’s action thriller Sierra Madre starring Kiefer Sutherland.
Highland Film Group’s current slate also includes Lisette Feliciano’s Iron Jane starring Eiza Gonzalez and Brandon Sklenar; Neil Burger’s action thriller Barracuda starring Anthony Mackie and Dafne Keen; Justin Chadwick’s action spy-thriller The Mark starring Jessica Alba, Tom Hopper and Elsa Pataky; Martin Campbell‘s thriller Just Play Dead starring Samuel L. Jackson and Eva Green; The Black Demon: Atlantis starring Jack Kesy; Pierre Morel’s action thriller The Good Samaritan starring Daisy Ridley, Josh Duhamel and Sharlto Copley; the espionage action thriller Stratagem starring Noomi Rapace and Teo Yoo and Brad Anderson’s psychological thriller Moral Capacity starring Dacre Montgomery, Diane Lane, Sofia Boutella and Tim Robbins, and the acclaimed cyber heist thriller LifeHack from producer Timur Bekmambetov, official selection at SXSW and the Fantasia International Film Festival.
ABOUT 66cc
66cc is a brand for a group of companies engaging in international sales, acquisitions, film production and financing respectively. Please contact Jin Chen & Debbie Pan at Palais -1 26.03.
PR via Maxine Leonard PR