Just when Arnold Schwarzenegger broke away from tradition to offer a heartfelt and emotionally raw performance in last year’s Maggie, the Austrian Oak has been typecast into a role that wouldn’t look out of place on his résumé from 20 years ago.
For Elliott Lester’s (Blitz, Love is the Drug) old-school revenge thriller 478, Schwarzenegger plays a man hellbent for revenge after discovering that the plane crash that killed his doting wife and child was caused by human error – specifically, the human error of one very unfortunate air traffic controller. And so, tossing common sense out the window, Schwarzenegger’s lumbering widower sets about avenging the death of his nearest and dearest. Surely there’s more to it than that, no?
No word yet on who will portray the hapless air traffic controller, though Variety brings word today that Kevin Zegers has boarded the thriller in an unspecified role. He’ll be joined on Lester’s action romp by Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice alum Scoot McNairy, with Hannah Ware rounding out the core cast.
Working from a script by Javier Gullon, the director’s feature has set up shop in Ohio ahead of a release later in the year. Darren Aronofsky and Scott Franklin are understood to be producing, with Lionsgate handling domestic distribution.
After revisiting a dormant franchise with Terminator Genisys in 2015, Schwarzenegger has his eyes set on a return to the Conan universe as well, not to mention long-rumored comedy sequel Triplets. We’re sensing a pattern here. Nonetheless, we’ll keep you updated as 478 inches closer to release.
