Chris Hemsworth is set to be a regular fixture of Netflix’s lineup of original movies over the next few years, with his Tyler Rake poised to play a prominent role in the streaming service’s plans for an entire Extraction cinematic universe. Sam Hargrave’s bone-crunching feature debut became the platform’s most-watched in-house film ever after racking up 99 million streams in the first four weeks it was available, and shooting on the sequel is looking to begin this fall.
The hulking Australian might be currently busy in his native country shooting Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbuster Thor: Love and Thunder, but Hemsworth has another Netflix original arriving before the end of 2021. Escape from Spiderhead hails from Tron: Legacy and Oblivion director Joseph Kosinki and is based on a 2010 short story by George Saunders.
The plot follows an experimental prison program where convicts have the option to volunteer as test subjects in exchange for a commuted sentence, forcing a pair of willing participants to reckon with their own pasts during a trip induced and overseen by the mysterious head of the treatment facility. The script hails from Deadpool and 6 Underground scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, who were once slated to make their directing debut on the project.
Shooting only started last November in and around Australia’s Gold Coast, which proved fortuitous given that Hemsworth was required for the beginning of production on Love and Thunder in January. The supporting cast is rounded out by Birds of Prey‘s Jurnee Smollett and Miles Teller, and while Escape from Spiderhead doesn’t have an official release date as of yet, it was included in Netflix’s 2021 sizzle reel, so we know to expect it by December at the very latest.
