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Keanu Reeves is set to star in the Netflix action movie “Maelstrom” after “Reacher” actor Alan Ritchson dropped out of the project.
“Carry-On” filmmaker Jaume Collet-Serra is directing “Maelstrom.” It revolves around
a Federal Marshal who is guarding the fiancée of an arms dealer who is seeking witness protection as she prepares to testify against him. Events unfold over one evening as a hurricane rolls in, blocking communication from the outside world and preventing reinforcements from arriving. Together, the duo has to fight the onslaught of men working for the arms deal while dealing with the natural disaster outside their window.
Page Six Hollywood first reported on Reeves’ casting, though it’s unclear why Ritchson is departing the movie.
Screenwriter Mark Bianculli (“How to Rob a Bank”) is polishing the script from a first draft by late writer Gregory Fitzpatrick.
Netflix is reviving the film, which was originally sold as a spec script to Warner Bros. in 1993 by producer Jeff Robinov when he was an agent. At the time, Variety reported that “Maelstrom” was “widely described as ‘Diehard’ in a hurricane” and went for roughly $225,000 to $ 625,000. (Now that’s closer to $500,000 to $1.4 million, adjusted for inflation over 33 years.) This is the first project under Robinov’s new Netflix deal. The former Warner Bros. Pictures president has shepherded billion-dollar franchises like “The Dark Knight” trilogy and “The Hangover.”
Reeves has 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’s currently in talks to lead James Wan’s next movie “The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil” for Paramount, and he will reprise his voice role as Shadow in 2027’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 4.”
