Kate Beckinsale (Underworld, Love & Friendship, Pearl Harbor) and Katherine McNamara (Disney+’s “Shadowhunters,” 20th Century Fox’s Maze Runner: The Death Cure) are set to join the cast of shark survival action film White, it was announced today. Directed by horror maven Jake West (Evil Aliens, Razor Blade Smile), the film is written by Dan Schaffer, the writer and illustrator of the cult comic book series, “Dogwitch”.
The shark actioner is produced by Yariv Lerner (Rambo: Last Blood, Hellboy), Dominic Burns (Jay and Silent Bob Reboot), Crawford Anderson-Dillon (5lbs of Pressure) and Sky Morfopoulos (Aura’s Wildcat). White is executive produced by Kate Beckinsale, Highland Film Group’s Arianne Fraser and Delphine Perrier, Patrick Wintersgill, Kevin Glynn, Pauric Duffy and Hannah Leader.
Highland Film Group is handling worldwide rights at Cannes and is co-financing the project.
White will see McNamara in the role of a marine biologist tasked with overseeing the rescue of a struggling actress named Willa Harba, and a self-obsessed star after they’ve crashed their private plane into the infamous White Shark Café, a stretch of ocean where great whites gather to feed. Beckinsale will play Barbara, the demanding studio boss who ignores Harba’s desperate call from a satellite phone salvaged from the wreck.
Casting is currently underway for the role of Willa; principal photography is set to begin in this summer in Bulgaria, England and the U.S.
“White is an incredibly elevated and intense adventure for the ages, filled with tension, emotion and ferocious sharks!” said Highland Film Group CEO Arianne Fraser. “We are delighted to be working with producer Yariv Lerner who continues to be a guiding force behind some of today’s most innovative action films. And with our wonderful cast led by Kate Beckinsale and Katherine McNamara, it’s the perfect addition to our Cannes slate,” added company COO Delphine Perrier.
Highland Film Group’s current slate also includes Lisette Feliciano’s Iron Jane starring Eiza Gonzalez and Brandon Sklenar; Neil Burger’s action thriller Barracuda starring Anthony Mackie and Dafne Keen; Justin Chadwick’s action spy-thriller The Mark starring Jessica Alba, Tom Hopper and Elsa Pataky; Martin Campbell‘s thriller Just Play Dead starring Samuel L. Jackson and Eva Green; The Black Demon: Atlantis starring Jack Kesy; Pierre Morel’s action thriller The Good Samaritan starring Daisy Ridley, Josh Duhamel and Sharlto Copley; the espionage action thriller Stratagem starring Noomi Rapace and Teo Yoo and Brad Anderson’s psychological thriller Moral Capacity starring Dacre Montgomery, Diane Lane, Sofia Boutella and Tim Robbins.
Beckinsale is repped by Kleinberg Lange.
Lead image: IMDb