Denzel Washington and Christopher McQuarrie team up for a thriller with a 2027 release date
Deadline reports that Washington will star in an untitled crime thriller directed by McQuarrie, with a theatrical release planned for October 1, 2027.
Denzel Washington is set to star in an untitled thriller directed by Christopher McQuarrie after Amazon MGM Studios and Scott Stuber’s United Artists greenlit the film, Deadline reported on October 20. The studios plan to release it in theaters on October 1, 2027.
The story follows a former police detective serving a life sentence. After a terminal brain cancer diagnosis, he is granted compassionate release with six months to live and returns to the daughter he left behind and a grandson he has never met, according to Deadline.
What is known about the Washington and McQuarrie film
Scott Barkan and Gregg Zehentner wrote the script. Deadline said producers are now looking to cast the detective’s daughter, a central figure in the story as he tries to reconnect with his family. The film does not yet have an announced title.
Deadline reported that the planned shoot moved up Washington’s list of projects after pre-production on his proposed Hannibal film with director Antoine Fuqua was halted over budget issues. Meetings with McQuarrie led Washington to choose the thriller as his next film, the outlet said.
McQuarrie and Heather McQuarrie are among the producers, alongside Stuber and Nick Nesbitt through United Artists. Deadline also named Joseph Restaino, Reza Moheet, Norman Aladjem, Katia Washington and Tommy Harper as producers. The project brings Washington and McQuarrie together on a crime story after McQuarrie’s run on the Mission: Impossible films.
Where the thriller fits in their schedules
Washington recently returned to the stage in Othello alongside Jake Gyllenhaal and starred in Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest, Deadline reported. He is also due to appear with Robert Pattinson and Daisy Edgar-Jones in Netflix’s The Take, which the outlet said is slated for 2027. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences identifies Washington as a two-time Oscar winner.
McQuarrie most recently worked on Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, after helping make the franchise’s previous three films. His earlier crime films include Jack Reacher and The Way of the Gun, giving the new thriller a different setting from the large-scale action series that has occupied much of his recent work.
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Sources and context
- Denzel Washington And Chris McQuarrie Team On New ThrillerDeadline
- Denzel Washington | Oscars.orgAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.