Steven Soderbergh Plots Crime Thriller 'Kill Switch' With Don Cheadle, Josh Brolin & Sebastian Stan

While Steven Soderbergh finds himself in the awards season conversation this year thanks to his star-studded money laundering satire “The Laundromat” and sports drama “High Flying Bird,” the filmmaker isn’t going to take a breather anytime soon to bask in that glory. Never one to rest, Soderbergh has yet another project in the works. Though the filmmaker recently completed shooting the comedy “Let Them All Talk for HBO Max, sources tell us the director is already plotting a packaged follow-up. On deck is “Kill Switch,” a new 1950s crime drama which finds the director teaming up with one of his recent collaborators, and featuring another incredible cast.

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“Kill Switch” is written by Ed Solomon, who worked with Soderbergh on the experimental murder mystery app/HBO limited series “Mosaic,” one of the more underrated projects from the filmmaker in recent years. In discussions for lead roles are Don Cheadle, Josh Brolin, and Sebastian Stan. John Cena is being eyed for a role, as well. Longtime Soderbergh ally Casey Silver (“Out Of Sight,”“Mosaic”) is producing (he also started Mindsight Media with Soderbergh, the company whose “choose your own adventure” technology-powered “Mosaic”).

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“Kill Switch” is a noir crime drama, with elements of home invasion thriller, that is set in Detroit during the mid-‘50s. The film follows a group of criminals that are brought together under mysterious circumstances and have to work together to uncover what’s really going on when their simple job goes completely sideways. “Kill Switch” not only features some great drama and suspense, but there’s also a healthy amount of social commentary, as one of the leads is a Black man trying to deal with life in the pre-Civil Rights setting.

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Solomon and Soderbergh also collaborated recently on “Bill and Ted Face the Music,” which is currently in post-production for release next year. Solomon wrote the belated ‘Bill & Ted’ threequel and Soderbergh produced.

Cheadle, Brolin, and Stan have all worked together previously, thanks to their roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But then again, with the sheer number of A-listers in these Marvel Studios films, it’s becoming more and more common that we find multiple MCU alums in new projects together.

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Cheadle will play the lead in the film, who finds himself forced in the middle of the criminal proceedings, but with plenty of secrets of his own. He and Soderbergh, who have not worked together since the “Oceans” trilogy,” have been looking for the right project to team up on, with “Kill Switch” likely serving as their long-awaited collaboration and Cheadle may also come on board as a co-producer.

With “Let Them All Talk” in post-production, “Kill Switch” may begin shooting sometime in the middle of next year. The project is already being quietly shopped around and there are plenty of new streaming services, hungry for content, that no doubt would love to have a crack at it. Netflix, and HBO Max have been his most recent partners, and it won’t surprise if “Kill Switch” lands in a similar home. – Reporting by Rodrigo Perez

Minor update: Ed Solomon says the movie shoots in February of 2020 and it’s being shot in a “’70s-style.”