Sorry, Dredd-heads, but it doesn’t look like director Pete Travis is waiting around in hopes of a green-light for a follow-up to his beloved but low-grossing 2012 comic-book adaptation. The helmer is now lining up kidnap thriller Snatchback, with Oscar-winning actress Rachel Weisz in the lead role.
Weisz (The Constant Gardener) will take on the role of Maureen Dabbagh, a real Virginia woman whose ex-husband kidnapped their two-year-old daughter and fled to the Middle East back in 1992. Dabbagh spent over 10 years tracking the pair across the volatile region before she finally got her daughter back.
In Snatchback, which Travis also scribed, the true story will get a rather Hollywood twist, with Dabbagh becoming a mercenary of sorts, embarking on dangerous missions to help other families to recover their kidnapped children from the Middle East while continuing her own search.
Weisz co-developed and will produce the project, which is currently putting together a largely international cast. Snatchback is ramping up to roll cameras later this year.
Though it’s a little odd that Travis would feel the need to spice up an already compelling tale with the whole mercenary bit, Weisz is a brilliant actress who has excelled in character-driven dramas like The Whistleblower and The Deep Blue Sea. Simultaneously, though, she’s shown herself capable of handling more action-packed projects like The Bourne Legacy. Snatchback seems like it will incorporate elements of both, and with a stylish director like Travis (who also made Vantage Point and Omagh) involved, that could be a very good thing.
We’ll keep you posted as the pic fills out its supporting cast.
