A new rural thriller is in the works with “Wild Game” and should be a project to keep our eyes on, given those involved. Jason Hall, who wrote Clint Eastwood’s “American Sniper,” will direct and adapt the novel penned by Frank Bergon as Deadline is now reporting that Miles Teller (“Top Gun: Maverick”) and Casey Affleck (“The Instigators”) will be leading the feature film. As it stands, the pic is seeking both international and domestic distribution ahead of its proposed production start this spring.
Although, it sounds like Teller will play slightly against type by taking on more of an antagonist in the thriller with Affleck in the role of a fish and game officer trying to arrest folks for poaching animals, leading to conflict with Teller’s character, Claude Dallas.
Deadline also added a synopsis for the thriller that reads:
“When Fish and Game officer Jack Irigaray (Affleck) joins a routine poacher arrest in the Black Rock Desert, a deadly encounter with renegade Claude Dallas (Teller) shatters his reality and propels him into a relentless quest for vengeance — one that blurs the line between justice and obsession.”
Teller had previously made a trio of films for director Joseph Kosinski (“F1”) with “Only The Brave,” “Top Gun: Maverick,” and “Spiderhead.” After a breakout performance in the band drama “Whiplash,” the actor’s career has evolved to the point where studios would start to consider him for action-thriller projects of this caliber, and he seems like a good fit to pair alongside an Oscar winner like Affleck.
An upcoming action genre project starring Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy (“Furiosa”) is Scott Derrickson’s “The Gorge,” which is an Apple Studios and Skydance Media movie mixing military and supernatural horror elements. That one is heading to the Apple TV+ streaming service on February 14.
“Wild Game” will be heading to the European Film Market in Berlin, Germany, this week, hoping to secure international buyers as Capstone Pictures will oversee and introduce the pic there. On the domestic sales front, CAA Media Finance, Range Select, and UTA Independent Film Group will handle all that as co-representatives.
It would be hard not to picture “Wild Game” potentially taking a page from Taylor Sheridan-directed films like “Wind River” or “Those Who Wish Me Dead,” where the outdoors plays a significant role and threat alongside dangerous human elements. Adding a wilderness survival angle should make for a dramatic and compelling story.
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