Having headlined British crime drama Luther for three seasons, Idris Elba simply disappears into the role of a gruff and steely secret agent, and that’s exactly the archetype he’ll be portraying in James Watkins’ Parisian thriller, Bastille Day.
Watkins, best known for helming Eden Lake and Daniel Radcliffe-fronted horror flick The Woman In Black, is switching gears to dip his toe in the spy thriller genre. Elba, meanwhile, leads the charge as Sean Briar, the CIA’s top dog that’s dispatched on a mission to the French capital, only to unearth a seedy conspiracy that stretches far above anything he could’ve imagined.
In his journey, Briar crosses paths with professional trickster Michael Mason – played by Richard Madden of Game of Thrones – eventually deciding to team up with the crook to form an unlikely team.
Bastille Day will open on April 22 in the United Kingdom. Kelly Reilly and Charlotte Le Bon also star, while Andrew Baldwin penned the script.
Michael Mason (Richard Madden, Game Of Thrones) is an American pickpocket living in Paris who finds himself hunted by the CIA when he steals a bag that contains more than just a wallet. Sean Briar (Idris Elba, Luther, Prometheus), the field agent on the case, soon realizes that Michael is just a pawn in a much bigger game and is also his best asset to uncover a large-scale conspiracy.
Going against commands, Briar recruits Michael to use his expert pickpocketing skills to help quickly track down the source of the corruption. As a 24hr thrill ride ensues, the unlikely duo discover they are both targets and must rely upon each other in order to take down a common enemy.
