Charlize Theron to Star in New Thriller ‘Apex’

Charlize Theron arrives on the red carpet of the 96th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 10, 2024. Credit/Provider: Nick Agro ©A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S.

Preview:

Charlize Theron is starring in ‘Apex’.
Baltasar Kormákur will direct the thriller.
Theron also commented on the future of ‘The Old Guard’ action franchise.

We all know Charlize Theron can handle an action situation. She’s proved it time and again in the likes of ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’, ‘Atomic Blonde’ and more.

So it’s perhaps not surprising to see her sparking to a new action project, as Netflix has her aboard a thriller called ‘Apex’ which will call her to scale some heights to survive.

What’s the Story of ‘Apex’?

2015’s ‘Everest’. Photo: Universal Pictures.

Jeremy Robbins wrote the screenplay, which Deadline has learned is described as a combination of ‘Free Solo’ and ‘The Silence of the Lambs’, in which a rock climber finds herself hunted in the wild. Reportedly it was good enough that Netflix was quick to purchase it.

The company nabbed the rights to the script back in February, in an unusual sale that, in this era of “packaging” (attaching directors and actors to scripts before taking them out) stands out.

Who is Making ‘Apex’?

(L to R) Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg in ‘2 Guns’. Photo: Universal Pictures.

With the script acquired, Netflix acted quickly to find a star and a director. Theron signed on around the same time as director Baltasar Kormákur. He’s got a little bit of experience with high altitude action since he directed 2015 based-on-truth drama ‘Everest’.

The filmmaker has also been behind the likes of ‘2 Guns’, ‘Beast’ and his most recent effort, new drama ‘Touch’, which is earning him some positive reviews.

As for Theron, ‘Apex’ puts her back in business with Netflix, for whom she starred in ‘The Old Guard’. And talking of the graphic novel-based franchise…

Theron Talks ‘The Old Guard 2’

Charlize Theron in ‘The Old Guard.’ Photo: Netflix.

The first installment of ‘The Old Guard’ –– which writer Greg Rucka adapted from his own comic book for director Gina Prince-Bythewood –– landed on Netflix in 2020 and became a pandemic viewing hit with its story of a small army of superhero-esque immortals whose centuries-old secret existence is threatened by a villainous pharmaceutical titan.

The sequel, which saw Victoria Mahoney directing while Uma Thurman and Henry Golding joined the cast, wrapped shooting in 2022 but has seen delays during its post-production process.

Here’s what Theron had to say about it:

“We got kind of stuck in that and our post-production shut down, I think, five weeks into it. They [Netflix] were going through a lot of changes, and I totally understand it. We finally picked it back up and I’m really excited about it. It’s really good. It’s a really important film to us. I only wanted to do it if we could make it amazing. I really love this movie.”

We’ve yet to learn when it might earn a spot on Netflix, but if all goes well it could finally arrive either later this year or early next.

When Will ‘Apex’ Be On Screens?

As of yet, Netflix hasn’t offered any details of when the movie might land –– or, indeed, if it’ll see a theatrical element before hitting the streamer’s servers.