Drew Starkey’s credits include roles in Love, Simon; Scream: The TV Series, The Devil All the Time, The Terminal List, and Queer, but he’s probably best known for playing the role of Rafe Cameron on the Netflix series Outer Banks – and now, Deadline is reporting that Starkey is the latest actor to join the cast of the action thriller Onslaught, which is coming our way from director Adam Wingard and screenwriter Simon Barrett.
Fresh off the success of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and with Face/Off 2 in development, Wingard and Barrett are returning to their roots with Onslaught, as the project is said to be “in the vein of their cult classics like The Guest and You’re Next.“
Starkey joins a cast that includes the previously announced Adria Arjona (Hit Man); Dan Stevens, who worked with Wingard and Barrett on The Guest and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire; and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex “Poatan” Pereira. Pereira is playing a villain called The Butcher. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Pereira will be able to “bring his set of skills to the role — including anaconda chokes and roundhouse kicks.” They also note that “Pereira is a former kickboxer and Brazilian mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is one of a handful of fighters to become a champion in two different weight divisions.”
Speaking of skillsets, sources say that Arjona’s character is “a mother who falls back on a particular set of skills in order to protect her loved ones after she runs afoul of a threat that has escaped a secret military base.” Stevens plays a German scientist who is working on the experiments that escape. Details on Starkey’s character have not been revealed.
Lyrical Media and A24 are co-financing Onslaught and A24 will handle worldwide distribution. Onslaught is expected to go into production in New Mexico this fall. Aaron Ryder and Andrew Swett are producing the film under their Ryder Picture Company banner, alongside A24. Alexander Black is producing for Lyrical Media. Wingard and his manager Jeremy Platt are also producing, through their new shingle Breakaway Civilization, along with Barrett. Lyrical’s Jon Rosenberg and Natalie Sellers serve as executive producers.
Working on Onslaught means that Wingard, who also directed Godzilla vs. Kong, has to miss out on the third film in the Godzilla / Kong series. He had been open to returning, previously saying, “There’s always the seduction of making a trilogy out of it, and I think that there’s some untapped areas to go into. There’s also ways to continue to innovate the stylized approach to the MonsterVerse, and what’s great about the MonsterVerse is that it’s allowed so many different directors to approach it with their unique style and color palette.” When he stepped away to make Onslaught, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures hired Grant Sputore, the director of Hilary Swank’s sci-fi thriller I Am Mother, to take the helm of the new installment. Dave Callaham (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) is writing the script. The MonsterVerse film is scheduled for a March 26, 2027 release.
While I haven’t had the chance to see Starkey’s performance in Queer yet, I did just start making my way through Outer Banks – and with one season down, I’m finding Starkey’s character to be an incredibly irritating scumbag. So I could definitely imagine him playing a slimy villain in this movie… but maybe they’ll surprise me and make him a good guy.
Are you interested in Onslaught? What do you think of Drew Starkey joining the cast? Let us know by leaving a comment below.