Sam Claflin (“Daisy Jones & the Six,” “Peaky Blinders,” the Hunger Games franchise) and Rupert Friend (“Asteroid City,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” “Homeland”) will star in the World War II action thriller “Perdition” from writer-director Henry Dunham (“The Standoff at Sparrow Creek”).
Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee will produce for Thunder Road Pictures, whose credits include the John Wick franchise, with Claflin executive producing.
Mister Smith Entertainment is launching international sales on the film at the Cannes Film Market with CAA Media Finance and UTA Independent Film Group co-representing North American rights.
The film, currently in pre-production, is scheduled to start principal photography this fall.
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Set in December 1944 against the war-torn Belgian landscape as World War II pushes toward a brutal climax, “Perdition” follows the journey of a lone American soldier (Claflin), who miraculously survives a POW camp execution. As he ventures into the bone-chilling landscape to save himself and a precious cargo salvaged from the camp, a ruthless Nazi SS officer on horseback (Friend) discovers his tracks and becomes obsessed with hunting him down.
Iwanyk stated: “Henry Dunham is one of the most exciting young filmmakers we have ever worked with. His vision for ‘Perdition’ blew us away. It’s singular, intense, emotional, and visually stunning.”
Dunham added: “‘Perdition’ is a story about a chance survival, the responsibility it imbues, and the need to make it count for something, even while being chased by a seemingly omnipotent force. A highly dramatic, classical, visual action thriller about timeless aspects of the human experience, I couldn’t be any luckier to have this team, and look forward to telling audiences this story soon.”
Mister Smith’s David Garrett commented: “We are proud and excited to be working with Thunder Road on this incredibly surprising, intelligent and intense thriller, from one of the most gifted new writers and filmmakers in the shape of Henry Dunham. Shooting on 35mm, it will be a theatrical experience not to be missed.”
Claflin most recently appeared in “Daisy Jones and the Six” in which he took on the male lead opposite Riley Keough. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for best performance by a male actor in a limited series. He is filming Harlan Coben’s thriller “Lazarus” in which he takes the lead, alongside Bill Nighy, and recently wrapped on “The Count of Monte Cristo,” in which he takes the titular role opposite Jeremy Irons. Later this year he can be seen in the Lionsgate thriller “Bagman” and the British independent film “Animal.” In 2022, he was seen in the final season of “Peaky Blinders” reprising his role of Oswald Mosley. Prior to that he was seen in Netflix’s hit “Enola Holmes.”
Friend can currently be seen in Wes Anderson’s shorts “The Swan” and “The Ratcatcher” on Netflix, based on the Roald Dahl short stories. He was also heavily featured in Anderson’s film “Asteroid City.” He stars in the Disney+ and LucasFilm’s series “Obi Wan Kenobi” opposite Ewan McGregor. He can also be seen as the lead of David E. Kelley and S.J. Clarkson’s Netflix limited series “Anatomy of a Scandal.” He is best known for his role as Peter Quinn on Showtime’s “Homeland.” He played the role for five seasons and was nominated for an Emmy. He can next be seen in “Companion” for New Line.
Dunham’s 2019 debut feature, “The Standoff at Sparrow Creek,” which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, received strong critical acclaim heralding him as a talent to watch. Dunham starts production on the thriller “Wichita Libra,” starring Phoebe Dynevor, this summer.
