THE HEALER: Eddie Peng And Ewan Mitchell Headline New Action Thriller Debut From Can Aydin
One of the best news bits out of Cannes just came into my inbox Thursday morning with word that Can Aydin has newly minted himself as a filmmaker, having just wrapped his feature directing debut on the new action thriller, The Healer. The movie was filmed in Budapest, Hungary with a cast led by Eddie Peng (Rise Of The Legend, Black Dog, The Rescue) and Ewan Mitchell (Saltburn, HBO’s “House of the Dragon,” Wuthering Heights), and is being pitched at the Cannes market with Jeffrey Chan’s 66cc repping Asian sales, CAA Media Finance for the U.S., and Highland Film Group for all other international rights.
Molly Hassell’s (The Crow, Return to Silent Hill, Terminal) Hassell Free Productions produced the film alongside Electric Shadow (Cliffhanger 2, The Uprising), with Jason Eric Laciste (Braven, The Last Manhunt), and Jonah Greenberg (Cave Rescue). Dejan Ahrens also produced and is a major financier of the film through his Marder Films label; Additional financing was provided by Vivian Tarn’s and Karam Almasri’s Riviera Content, Taiden Audio-Visual Production Co., and East West Bank, all arranged by Hungary’s Rosebud Finance Kft. The production was undertaken in association with Victor Hadida’s Davis Films.
Aydin directed The Healer from his own script with a story set in what is described as a city governed by shadows. Peng plays the title role – a blind acupuncturist living a life of quiet ritual, using heightened senses to mend bodies the world has broken. The rest of the logline reads: “Once a weapon trained to destroy, The Healer traded violence for peace—until Soly, a young patient he vowed to protect, becomes the target of ruthless gang boss Dandy Lynch (Ewan Mitchell). Carrying the weight of his past, The Healer is forced back into a brutal underworld, fighting with surgical precision and a dangerous knowledge of the human body to reach the boy before he becomes another innocent casualty.”
Smylie Bradwell (Hamnet, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping) takes on the role of Soly. Actors Georgina Beedle (Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) and Jameela Jamil (The Good Place, People We Meet on Vacation) also star.
“It’s rare to see two such talented actors go head-to-head – Eddie Peng and Ewan Mitchell are our ‘Crown Jewels,”’ Hassell said. “They give performances that are simply awe-inspiring and well represent what makes this film so unique: great acting combined with a compelling story that audiences around the world are going to love watching.”
“Eddie Peng is a major star, both in Asia and globally. The picture just wrapped shooting, and the early footage we’ve seen looks absolutely incredible!” said Highland Film Group CEO Arianne Fraser. “The fight choreography is impressive, with a scale, cinematic ambition and commercial appeal that will strongly resonate with international audiences.” added Highland COO Delphine Perrier.
“I’m deeply grateful to Molly for inviting me on board and thrilled to be able to re-unite with Eddie after almost a decade since Unbeatable and Operation Mekong,” said Jeffrey Chan. “Having become so successful, Eddie is still the same talented and dedicated young man in The Healer, and this film will surely take him to the next level of success on the international stage.”
Aydin’s career is a long-journeyed as a stunt performer and erudite professional in the field of screenfighting, as one of the founding members of Reel Deal Action. His exploits credits as actor, stuntman and fight coordinator partly includes a mix of titles like Big Game, The Berlin File, Vanguard, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Bullet Train, Skylines, Marvel’s *Thunderbolts, Over Your Dead Body, Jonathan “Jojo” Eusebio‘s own directing debut, Love Hurts; Aydin’s exploits in the stunt field as mentee under industry coordinator Jonathan “Jojo” Eusebio and are further documented in the limited Peacock series, Action, as he and the team worked on Tommy Wirkola’s Violent Night, and David Leitch’s The Fall Guy.
Some of Aydin’s more prolific work on both sides of the lens has showcased him alongside members of his Reel Deal Action team on the feature film front, including James Marks’ gritty action drama, On The Ropes, and Ufuk Genc and Michael Popescu’s 2017 action comedy, Plan B, which opened theatrically from 20th Century Fox in Germany. The latter was announced for an English language remake in 2022 and remains in development.
Peng is repped by Amelia Hung and CAA, and Mitchell by Independent Talent Group and CAA.
Native New Yorker. Been writing for a long time now, and I enjoy what I do. Be nice to me!
