Regardless of how you personally feel about Mel Gibson, you have to admit that he’s a pretty damn great director. In fact, he’s 5-for-5 in my book thanks to Braveheart, Apocalypto, Hacksaw Ridge, The Passion of the Christ, and his debut, The Man Without a Face. So attention must be paid whenever Gibson steps behind the camera.
In a different kind of gig for the Oscar-winning filmmaker, Gibson has agreed to direct the suspense thriller Flight Risk, which will star two-time Oscar nominee Mark Wahlberg as a pilot transporting a dangerous criminal for trial. He knows a thing or two about those, having earned a Best Supporting Actor nod for his turn in The Departed.
Deadline broke the news, reporting that the project is based on the script by Jared Rosenberg that was voted to the 2020 Black List. At the time, the logline followed an Air Marshal who is transporting a fugitive across the Alaskan wilderness via a small plane when she finds begins to suspect that the pilot is not who he says he is.
Sounds pretty juicy, right? I can’t wait to see who Gibson casts for the female lead… and the fugitive, of course. I wonder if he’ll play the latter role himself. Either way, Flight Risk marks a reunion between Wahlberg and Gibson, who first co-starred in Daddy’s Home 2 together, and most recently shared the screen in Father Stu.
Gibson and his longtime producing partner Bruce Davey will produce under their Icon Productions banner along with John Davis and his team at Davis Entertainment. Alex Lebovici of Hammerstone Studios will finance the film and serve as an executive producer.
Lionsgate will launch global sales at the Cannes Film Market. The studio was also behind Gibson’s most recent directorial effort, Hacksaw Ridge, which was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director en route to grossing $180 million worldwide.
Wahlberg recently wrapped Netflix’s action-thriller The Union with Halle Berry and he’s been busy filming Apple’s action-comedy The Family Plan with Michelle Monaghan. Meanwhile, Gibson will soon be seen in a spinoff of one of Berry’s franchises — The Continental, a three-part event series on Peacock that centers on the hotel in the John Wick movies. The director is represented by APA, while his star is repped by WME and Leverage Management.
