A24 announced today that it has acquired U.S. rights to Ben Wheatley’s action-thriller Free Fire. Executive produced by Martin Scorsese, the film stars Sharlto Copley, Armie Hammer, Brie Larson, Cillian Murphy, and Jack Reynor. The movie, which also stars Sam Riley and Noah Taylor, was co-written by Amy Jump and Wheatley, and produced by Andrew Starke. Additional executive producers include Sikelia’s Emma Tillinger-Koskoff, Reno Antoniades, Film4’s David Kosse and Sam Lavender, and Ben Roberts and Lizzie Francke from the British Film Institute.
Free Fire centers around an arms deal that goes spectacularly and explosively wrong. Justine (Larson) has brokered a meeting in a deserted warehouse between two Irishmen and a gang led by Vernon and Ord, who are selling them a stash of guns. But when shots are fired during the handover, complete pandemonium ensues, with everyone at the scene suddenly thrust into a heart-stopping game of survival.
About the acquisition, A24 said, “We’re thrilled to be working on ‘Free Fire’—Ben Wheatley is one of the most exciting and innovative filmmakers out there, and we have no doubt he will brilliantly orchestrate this story’s electrifying mayhem. This promises to be both one of the most accomplished and one of the most fun movies of the next year, and we’re excited to bring it to a wide audience.”
Wheatley previously directed such critically acclaimed thrillers as High-Rise (which is set for release this summer), Sightseers, and Kill List.
