Mel Gibson, Cole Hauser join Crank co-director’s newest action thriller

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Mark Neveldine, who co-directed CRANK, CRANK: HIGH VOLTAGE, GAMER, and GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE alongside Brian Taylor, will by flying solo for his next project as he's slated to take the helm of PANAMA, and THR has reported that the upcoming action/thriller is slated to star Cole Hauser and Mel Gibson.

Scripted by Daniel Adams and William R. Barber, PANAMA will follow a "rugged and decorated ex-marine (Hauser) who is sent undercover by his former commander (Gibson) to execute a high-value deal with untrustworthy adversaries." If that sounds at all familiar, you might be thinking of the previous iteration of the project that was set to star Frank Grillo and Morgan Freeman in the roles now occupied by Hauser and Gibson. PANAMA is expected to kick off production in Puerto Rico this December, and THR says that Gibson will shoot his part and immediately move on to LEO FROM TOLEDO, an action/thriller directed by Joe Carnahan that is also set to shoot in Puerto Rico.

Mel Gibson will next be seen in FATMAN, a dark comedy action film that centers around a cash-strapped Santa Claus who is forced into a partnership with the U.S. military in order to save his declining business. Not only that, but he must face off against a deadly assassin (Walton Goggins) hired by a precocious 12-year-old who was furious after receiving a lump of coal in his stocking. The film is set to be released in select theaters on November 13, 2020, followed by an On Demand and Digital release on November 17, 2020. Cole Hauser currently stars in Yellowstone alongside Kevin Costner. The Paramount Network series finished its third season in August and has already been renewed for a fourth.