Inside Keanu Reeves’ new Netflix action thriller ‘Maelstrom’ after Alan Ritchson’s exit
Alright then, this one’s taken its sweet time getting off the ground, hasn’t it, because Netflix has fished an action thriller out of Hollywood’s dusty old cupboard, and this time, we have Keanu Reeves to give the poor thing a new lease of life.
The film is called Maelstrom, and the John Wick star is taking over a part once earmarked for Reacher bruiser Alan Ritchson, who had been in talks before dropping out of the picture. Nobody is letting on about what happened there, so make of that what you will.
And if you are wondering what kind of trouble Keanu Reeves has signed up for this time, the pitch is basically Die Hard caught in a hurricane, because putting a man through four films’ worth of John Wick chaos wasn’t punishment enough, and now Mother Nature wants to give it a try.
With Carry-On filmmaker Jaume Collet-Serra in the director’s chair and a script that has been waiting since 1993 for its close-up, Netflix might have found itself an old-school actioner.
What is Maelstrom about?
Keanu Reeves will be playing a federal marshal who is given the thankless job of protecting the fiancée of a dangerous arms dealer. Now, this is a woman preparing to testify against the man she was supposed to marry, so you can sense the delicacy of this situation.
Just then a hurricane rolls in and cuts off contact with the outside world, leaving the marshal stuck in a safe house with the witness while the arms dealer’s henchmen are on their way, and there goes any hope of calling in backup or delegating the protection job.
The whole thing happens across one hell of a night, with a siege underway and a storm raging outside, so if John McClane had the pleasure of fighting terrorists in a skyscraper, Reeves’ marshal has got the added headache of trying to keep the building standing.
Who is behind Maelstrom?
So, Gregory Fitzpatrick wrote the original spec script, which was sold to Warner Bros. in 1993 with Jeff Robinov involved in the deal, and after spending more than three decades without getting made, it’s now back on Robinov’s desk as one of the projects he is producing.
Mark Bianculli is working on the screenplay, Collet-Serra is calling the shots after directing Netflix’s Carry-On, and Reeves is the only actor reported for the cast, meaning there is no word on who will play the witness he’s been provided with the job of keeping alive.
When will Maelstrom arrive on Netflix?
As usual, Netflix hasn’t announced when filming will begin or when the film might arrive, but after spending 33 years gathering dust in Hollywood, what’s another year or two? At least this time, the project has Keanu Reeves on its side.