Let it be known that Netflix is not fooling around when it comes to scooping up some of the hottest film projects up for auction as the Streaming Wars rage on. Netflix today has secured the worldwide rights to Heart of Stone, an espionage thriller from director Tom Harper (The Aeronauts, Wild Rose) starring Gal Gadot. Developed by SkyMedia, Heart of Stone hopes to launch a female-centric franchise with the action and global scale of films like Mission: Impossible and 007.
The sale marks the second time this week that Skydance has sold one of its major film projects to a streaming service, after previously lining up a deal with Amazon for The Tomorrow War starring Chris Pratt. The deal also sees Gadot making a return to Netflix after starring in the Rawson Marshall Thurber-directed heist film Red Notice, with Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds.
Penning the script for Heart of Stone is The Old Guard co-creator and writer Greg Rucka and Allison Schroeder. Producing the film are Skydance Media’s Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Don Granger, along with Gadot and her Pilot Wave producing partner Jaron Varsano, Bonnie Curtis, and Julie Lynn.
Next up for Gadot is a starring role in Kenneth Branagh's Hercule Poirot mystery Death on the Nile. Based on the classic novel by Agatha Christie, the story finds the intrepid Hercule Poirot on vacation on the Nile, who in time is made to investigate the murder of a young heiress. The upcoming adventure also stars Emma Mackey, Armie Hammer, Rose Leslie, Tom Bateman, Letitia Wright, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Adam Garcia, Russell Brand, Ali Fazal, and Nikkita Chadha, among others.
A Gal Gadot-led action franchise-starter akin to Mission: Impossible, you say? I could be down for that. How about you? Do you think Gadot has what it takes to lead such an ambitious film idea? Let us know in the comments section below.