Michael Mann fans have had to wait an inordinate amount of time for the director’s next effort. While he worked on the pilot episode for the TV show Luck, Mann hasn’t had a movie in theaters since 2009’s Public Enemies with Christian Bale and Johnny Depp. But his next picture is ramping up casting, which means the ball should start rolling soon on a cyber-thriller he has been planning for some time now.
According to Deadline, Viola Davis is in talks to play “a starring role” in Mann’s as-yet-untitled thriller, which the trade says is about to start filming next month in China. Davis would play an FBI agent in the movie, and she’d act alongside Chris Hemsworth, who landed a part in the developing thriller earlier. Details beyond that are nonexistent, however, with Deadline simply describing it as “a thriller about a cyber crime.” Mann doesn’t make simple movies, however, so we can expect the narrative to deepen in heft and scope as details emerge.
Any time a film in pre-production is able to add a two-time Oscar nominee like Davis to the roster, it has to be a good move. The actress has been very busy lately, recently wrapping production on Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners alongside Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal while also prepping the much-anticipated Ender’s Game, which will be out later this fall. Davis co-starred in Beautiful Creatures earlier this year. This would mark her first collaboration with Mann. Do you think that the director is making a fine choice in circling Davis? I tend to like her in virtually everything she attempts, and am interested to see what she can bring out of Mann. Share your own thoughts below.
