Keanu Reeves is set to star in the Netflix action film “Maelstrom” after “Reacher” actor Alan Ritchson dropped out of the project.
“Carry-On” filmmaker Jaume Collet-Serra directs “Maelström.” The story revolves around a federal marshal who babysits the fiancée of an arms dealer who is seeking witness protection as she prepares to testify against him. Events unfold over the course of one evening as a hurricane arrives, blocking communication with the outside world and preventing reinforcements from arriving. Together, the duo must fight off onslaughts from men working in the arms trade while dealing with the natural disaster outside their window.
Page Six Hollywood first reported on Reeves’ casting, although it’s unclear why Ritchson is leaving the film.
Screenwriter Mark Bianculli (“How to Rob a Bank”) refines the screenplay from a first draft by the late writer Gregory Fitzpatrick.
Netflix is reviving the film, which was originally sold as a screenplay to Warner Bros. in 1993 by producer Jeff Robinov while he was an agent. At the time, Variety reported that “Maelstrom” was “widely described as ‘unbeatable’ in the face of a hurricane” and cost between $225,000 and $625,000. (That’s now over $500,000 at $1.4 million, adjusted for inflation over 33 years.) This is the first project under Robinov’s new Netflix deal. The former chairman of Warner Bros. Pictures has spearheaded billion-dollar franchises like “The Dark Knight” trilogy and “The Hangover.”
Reeves cemented his status as an action star through franchises like “The Matrix” and “John Wick.” Last year, he made his Broadway debut in “Waiting for Gadot” alongside his “Bill & Ted” co-star Alex Winter. He is currently in talks to direct James Wan’s upcoming film “The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil” for Paramount, and he will reprise his role as the voice of Shadow in 2027’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 4.”
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