Is there a more reliable leading man for mid-budget action movies than Gerard Butler? Maybe he and Jason Statham, together, occupying and keeping alive a bracket that Arnie, Sly, JCVD, and early Seagal entertained us with in the 1980s.
He is a busy guy right now. He most recently wrapped production on a live-action How To Train Your Dragon movie. No doubt he will have significant voice work for the related land at Univeral’s Epic Universe, their brand new theme park in Orlando, Florida.
He is currently filming the Ric Roman Waugh sequel Greenland: Migration. After that, he has already lined up his next project.
He will buddy up with his former Den of Thieves director Christian Gudegast for Empire State.
Said to be an action thriller with a touch of comedy, the movie sees the Empire State Building coming under attack by a military contractor hellbent on revenge. Butler plays a Navy SEAL turned NY firefighter (but of course!) named Rhett. No surname is known at the moment, but it’s probably “Thrust” or something.
He must put aside his current relationship troubles with NYPD Tactical officer Dani to try and rescue hostages and save the building, and the day.
The role of Dani is yet to be cast. For some reason, it feels like Eliza Gonzalez would be a good fit.
What could make this stand out? Well, it was written by S. Craig Zahler, the man behind Bone Tomahawk and Dragged Across Concrete. Also in the fold is Marvel’s Secret Invasion writer Brian Tucker, but we won’t hold that against him.
Butler, Alan Siegel, and Marc Butan will produce.
Gudegast wrote London Has Fallen, which starred Butler, and the two of them have just completed Den of Thieves 2: Pantera together.
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