Deadline brings word that Harald Zwart, best known for helming Mortal Instruments: City of Bones and 2010’s The Karate Kid, has got behind the wheel of upcoming Keanu Reeves action vehicle, Rally Car.
It’s already found a home at Chinese producer Fundamental Films and Company Films, with Zwart now on board to direct from a script by Jeremy Lott (Spy Kids). Lott will be building from an original treatment provided by Stephen Hamel, who will produce the racing thriller alongside Reeves.
Headlining Rally Car as a hot shot NASCAR driver and something of a maverick, it is Reeves’ former champ that’s very much at the heart of the story. Refusing to accept that his glory days are now behind him, our protagonist makes one final, valiant and ill-advised attempt to prove that there’s still some mileage left in his career behind the wheel by entering a international racing event in China.
Flanked by a young Chinese woman as his co-pilot, Rally Car reads like your average redemption story, one fuelled by the white-knuckle intensity of NASCAR driving. Even still, it’s too soon to gauge whether Reeves’ latest role is something that can find an international audience.
“This is a story that will resonate with audiences worldwide and we’re looking forward to the thrilling ride Harald Zwart will be taking us on,” said Fundamental chairman Mark Gao. “The project promises to be action-packed, full of high-octane car-chases, heart-pumping adventure and visually stunning locations to showcase some of the most dramatic landscapes of China.”
Beyond Rally Car, Fundamental Films will also have a hand in the production of Luc Besson’s sprawling sci-fi opus Valerian. Keanu Reeves, meanwhile, was recently seen in forgettable crime thriller Exposed.
