After retiring two of his own franchises, actor, producer and star Sylvester Stallone still has a full plate being readied over at Balboa Productions.
Samaritan will be his next project for MGM according to Deadline‘s Mike Fleming Jr. who reports that Julius Avery will take the director’s chair, following up on his riproaring thriller, Overlord.
The film was announced last October described then as “a dark, fresh take on the superhero genre”. Fleming Jr.’s report follows up a bit more on the premise and word of an early 2020 start:
Based on an original idea, the thriller centers on young boy who is out to discover if a mythic superhero, who vanished 20 years earlier following a tragic event, is still alive.
Samaritan is the latest addition to Avery’s workloard following The Heavy with J.J. Abrams at Bad Robot, and a previous partnership with Kingsman helmer Matthew Vaughn for a Flash Gordon remake, cancelled as of Fox’s acquisition by Disney.
Stallone will produce with Braden Aftergood at Balboa while Bragi F. Schut (Escape Room) is penning the script and will exec produce.
“Sly is a hero of mine, I’m incredibly thrilled to be working with such an iconic actor on this very special project with Balboa Productions and MGM,” Avery said.
The company is also in for the long haul with projects like Hunter, a Jack Johnson biopic, Iko Uwais thriller The Bellhop, and a remake of Don Lee actioner, The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil.
Stallone’s recent release over the weekend, Rambo: Last Blood, hails his latest franchise exit since Creed 2, closing the door for his original iconic boxing saga, Rocky.