Director John Hillcoat is pretty excellent when it comes to rugged films about outlaws, with 2012’s Lawless and 2005’s The Proposition as obvious standouts, but his upcoming thriller Triple Nine will turn the good guys into the outlaws, and it’s just gained a giant cast of talented actors that will almost certainly make this the biggest film of his career. The previously cast Chiwetel Ejiofor and Casey Affleck will be joined by Kate Winslet, Michael B. Jordon, Aaron Paul, Teresa Palmer, Michael Peña, and Gal Gadot. I would take a deep breath after saying all that, but I’m afraid someone else might join the project in the meantime.
Triple Nine didn’t just gain a huge cast, either. Deadline reports Open Road Films has preemptively snagged the domestic distribution rights, while Sierra/Affinity will be shopping it around for international buyers at the European Film Market. I’m guessing it won’t take long to attract many a studios’ deep pockets.
The film centers on a group of corrupt policemen who find themselves on the wrong end of a blackmail threat from the Russian mafia, and are tasked with performing a dangerous and nearly impossible heist. The plan will involve setting up and taking down a rookie cop to draw attention from the rest of the force, while part of the dirty cop squad are across the city working on the actual job. Everything goes haywire when the rookie cop survives his attack, and even more double-crossing and dirty tricks come into play. There are hints of many other heist action films, but I’m betting the script from Hillcoat and Matt Cook will feel like an original story.
While there's no word on which actor will be playing what parts, I’m pretty sure we can count on either Jordon or Paul as the rookie cop - although I can easily see Paul as a no-smiles member of the Russian mob. Really, it’s equally possible Gadot or Palmer will take the role.
Jordan and Winslet were in two of this past weekend’s debuts, That Awkward Moment and Labor Day, respectively, and Paul will soon be seen in the video game quasi-adaptation Need for Speed. Peña will soon star as labor leader Cesar Chavez in the biopic that takes his name, and Palmer is starring in the romantic sci-fi Parts Per Billion. You may have heard Gadot’s name a time or two recently, as she’ll portray Wonder Woman in Zack Snyder’s upcoming Batman/Superman movie.
Open Road is planning on putting Triple Nine out in theaters some time in 2015. Even if you happen to be unfamiliar with Hillcoat’s features, you were still probably one of the many millions who saw his latest work, the culture-friendly Super Bowl commercial from Coca Cola that became something of an Internet phenomenon (for all the wrong reasons). You can watch it below, but save any racially undignified remarks for the dinner table.
