20th Century Studios has acquired a new action thriller called Painter, written by John Wick creator Derek Kolstad. James Cameron, best known for directing Avatar, is attached as an executive producer. The film recently added Walton Goggins and Amber Midthunder in the leading roles after Alan Ritchson left the project because of scheduling conflicts.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Painter follows a woman, “trained from a young age, who must employ every skill in her arsenal to rescue her father after he is kidnapped.” Goggins will play the father. Drew Simon of Infrared Pictures, which is producing the movie, described it during its announcement as “a seminal action hero film” that could develop into “an exciting new franchise.” In his statement, he said, “Painter will be a seminal action hero film, making Midthunder into this generation’s Sarah Connor (Terminator). We loved [Derek] Kolstad’s high-octane script, and we know, with Garrett Warren at the helm, this film will kickstart an exciting new franchise in the world of action.”
The project shares creative similarities with John Wick. Both are built around skilled characters driven by personal motivations. Kolstad wrote both scripts, and Painter director Garrett Warren comes from a stunt background, as did John Wick director Chad Stahelski. The movie will also mark Warren’s feature directorial debut. His previous work as a stunt coordinator includes Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water, James Mangold’s Logan, and Amazon’s Road House reboot.
Goggins has a long record of sharp performances on film and television. He is known for playing Boyd Crowder in Justified, Shane Vendrell in The Shield, and Cooper Howard in Fallout. He earned an Emmy nomination for his role in HBO’s The White Lotus and appeared again this year as Baby Billy Freeman in the final season of The Righteous Gemstones.
Midthunder gained wide recognition for her portrayal of Naru in the 2022 film Prey. She has since appeared in Novocaine with Jack Quaid and in A24’s Opus alongside Ayo Edebiri and John Malkovich. Her earlier television credits include FX’s Legion and The CW’s Roswell, New Mexico. Midthunder will also star in Prime Video’s upcoming adaptation of Stephen King’s first novel, Carrie.
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