Lionsgate also issued a press release that includes an official synopsis for the film:
Schwarzenegger will be starring as Sheriff Owens, a man who has resigned himself to a life of fighting what little crime takes place in sleepy border town Sommerton Junction after leaving his LAPD post following a bungled operation that left him wracked with failure and defeat after his partner was crippled. After a spectacular escape from an FBI prisoner convoy, the most notorious, wanted drug kingpin in the hemisphere is hurtling toward the border at 200 mph in a specially outfitted car with a hostage and a fierce army of gang members. He is headed, it turns out, straight for Summerton Junction, where the whole of U.S. law enforcement will have their last opportunity to make a stand and intercept him before he slips across the border forever. At first reluctant to become involved, and then counted out because of the perceived ineptitude of his small town force, Owens ultimately accepts responsibility for one of the most daring face offs in cinema history.
July 12, 2011: Despite the recent scandal woes Arnold Schwarzenegger and his public image have been tangling with these past months, the iconic action star is making good on his word to finally return to the silver screen.
As had been previously rumored, it looks like Schwarzenegger will indeed be teaming with South Korean filmmaker Jee-woon Kim (I SAW THE DEVIL, THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD) for the director’s English-language debut THE LAST STAND.
The western is reminiscent of genre classic HIGH NOON as the story follows “the exploits of a drug cartel leader who blasts his way out of a courtroom, steals a car, and heads towards the Mexican border.” Arnie will play “a sheriff with an inexperienced staff who becomes involved with trying to stop the cartel leader from entering Mexico after the two parties inadvertently cross paths.”
Jee-woon Kim is a fantastic director (I SAW THE DEVIL is on Netflix Instant now and should be seen) and it’s heartening to see Schwarzenegger make a more leftfield film decision. It’s also perhaps a smarter career move than going the TERMINATOR route again. A film like that in this day and age would have to be made for a ton of money, and Schwarzenegger is likely seen as much less of a sure-thing in terms of box office, particularly right now (he’s reportedly making nowhere near as much for Kim’s film as he would’ve for his other project CRY MACHO).
THE LAST STAND is said to be starting production in September.