Academy Award winner and much-celebrated actor Forest Whitaker has joined Tom Hardy in director Gareth Evans' upcoming action flick,Havoc. The movie will debut on Netflix and is sure to be another action movie classic from the director ofThe Raid.Havocfalls under Evans' new exclusive deal with Netflix, which he recently signed with the streaming giant.
Havocis set after adrug deal gone wrong, when a bruised detective must fight his way through a criminal underworld to rescue a politician’s estranged son, while unravelling a deep web of corruption and conspiracy that ensnares his entire city. Tom Hardy is of course on board to star as the main character, the downtrodden “bruised detective”, with theForest Whitakercharacter currently unknown.
Havocis due to be written and directed by Gareth Evans, who has quickly become the action movie director to watch since breaking onto the scene with 2011’sThe Raid. Set almost exclusively in a 15-storey safe house belonging to drug lord,The Raidstars Iko Uwais as Rama, a rookie member of an elite squad tasked to infiltrate the high-rise building. When the team become trapped inside, Rama must use his extensive combat skills in the Indonesian fighting style of pencak silat to survive the onslaught of criminal inhabitants and escape.
The Raidwas followed up with a sequel,The Raid 2, in 2014 and moved out into the wider world away from the ominous tower block, following Rama as he is sent undercover to expose the corrupt police officials colluding with the crime families of Jakarta’s criminal underworld. BothThe RaidandThe Raid 2are considered to be some of the best examples of modern action cinema thanks to their high-energy plotting, over-the-top violence, and stunningly brutal fight sequences, with fans excited to see what Evans can achieve working alongside Tom Hardy andNetflix.
Whitaker meanwhile has amassed quite the curriculum vitae over the years, starring in a healthy mixture of smaller projects as well as tentpole blockbusters. The Oscar winner needs no introduction at this stage in his career, but just in case you have forgotten, his previous credits include the likes ofRogue One: A Star Wars Story,Black Panther,The Crying Game,Platoon,Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai,Good Morning, Vietnam,The Last King of Scotland,Panic Room, andThe Butlerto name but a few.
The hugely talented actor recently starred in the ongoing seriesGodfather of Harlem, in which he portrays real life gangster Bumpy Johnson. Detailing the gangster’s life during the 1960s, and his rise through the criminal ranks, the series also acts as a prequel to the 2007 movie,American Gangster, which centered on the criminal enterprise of Frank Lucas, played by Denzel Washington. Whitaker is also due to star in director Liesl Tommy’sRespectabout the life of legendary R&B singer, Aretha Franklin. Whitaker will star as her father, C. L. Franklin, alongside Jennifer Hudson as Aretha.
The addition of Forest Whitaker toHavocis a big win for the movie and seeingTom Hardyand Whitaker go toe-to-toe on screen is certainly an exciting prospect. This comes to us courtesy ofDeadline.
