My Cousin Rachel and Me Before You star Sam Claflin is poised to make the jump over to Hollywood’s action genre, after signing on to headline crime-thriller Semper Fi.
That’s according to The Hollywood Reporter, revealing that Henry-Alex Rubin, the Oscar-nominated director behind Murderball and Disconnect, is the brains behind the script. Semper Fi has evolved into something of a passion project for the filmmaker, too, and he’ll direct for Cornerstone Films as the studio prepares to launch sales at the imminent Cannes International Film Festival. Expect the annual fest to get underway on May 17th.
Story-wise, the taut thriller centers on a “straight-laced cop who resolves (Claflin, we assume) to help his brother – found guilty of killing a man in a barroom fight – by breaking him out of prison with his life-long friends and fellow Marine Corps reservists.” Mixing elements of Escape Plan and the Patrick Swayze action classic Road House, Semper Fi reads as a fairly straightforward, by-the-numbers action movie that’ll push its central sibling bond to the absolute extremes. Now that Sam Claflin is locked in, we fully expect Cornerstone to begin casting the net in search of the film’s supporting players.
It’ll do so with a small sense of urgency, too, considering that the cameras are set to start rolling in Vancouver this summer. Such a production start date would place Semper Fi on course for a release sometime in 2018. Further details are expected to be shared over the coming weeks and months, so stay tuned for more. Until that time, though, you can share your preliminary thoughts on Claflin’s casting – and subsequent journey over to the action genre – in the usual place below.
