Best known for playing the character Chris Alonso on 106 episodes of the CBS TV series S.W.A.T., Lina Esco has now become the latest actor to sign on for a role in RIP, a crime thriller that’s written and directed by Joe Carnahan and is set up at the Netflix streaming service. According to Variety, Esco will be taking on the role of Captain Jackie Velez.
RIP will follow a group of Miami cops whose trust begins to fray after they discover millions in cash in a derelict stash house. As outside forces learn about the size of the seizure, everything is called into question — including who they can rely on.
Esco joins a cast that includes Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, as well as Kyle Chandler of Super 8, Sasha Calle, who played Supergirl in The Flash, singer/songwriter Teyana Taylor, who starred in the drama A Thousand and One, Catalina Sandino Moreno of the MGM+ series From, actor star Scott Adkins (John Wick: Chapter 4), and Néstor Carbonell, who was recently seen on the FX / Hulu series Shōgun. Details on the specific characters being played by Damon, Affleck, Calle, and Taylor have not been revealed, but The Hollywood Reporter was able to learn that Moreno and Carbonell are playing members of the police force, while Chandler will be playing a DEA agent. Deadline reported that Adkins’ character and Affleck’s character are brothers.
Damon and Affleck are producing the film alongside Luciana Damon and Dani Bernfeld for Artists Equity. Michael Joe and Kevin Halloran of Artists Equity serve as executive producers. Filming is expected to begin later this month and will take place in Miami and Los Angeles.
Joe Carnahan has previously directed Blood, Guts, Bullets & Octane; Narc, Smokin’ Aces, The A-Team, The Grey, Stretch, Boss Level, and Copshop. He also worked on the screenplays for Pride and Glory, the Death Wish remake, El Chicano, and Bad Boys for Life. He was also attached to direct the Death Wish remake and Bad Boys for Life during the development of those films, but dropped out over creative differences – which is something he also did when he was attached to direct Mission: Impossible 3.
The other movies that have both Damon and Affleck in the cast are School Ties, Glory Daze, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, The Last Duel (which they wrote with Nicole Holofcener), Air, and Good Will Hunting (which they won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for writing). They were also extras on the set of Field of Dreams.
Are you interested in RIP? What do you think of Lina Esco joining the cast? Let us know by leaving a comment below.