It's been confirmed that Rupert Wainwright will no longer direct NOT WITHOUT HOPE, a survival drama starring Miles Teller that was slated to begin shooting in the Dominican Republic this August. Sources close to the production say that Wainwright's exit is due to "creative differences," and that the search for a new director will likely push filming back by a couple of weeks.
According to Variety, who broke the news about Wainwright's departure on Tuesday, the film tells the story of Nick Schuyler, who managed to survive hours in the freezing water after his boat capsized in the Gulf of Mexico. Schuyler was on a fishing trip with three friends, two of whom were Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper and free-agent NFL defensive lineman Corey Smith. Their brutal ordeal became a major news story. The film is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Schuyler and Jere Longman, though E. Nicholas Mariani has been charged with writing the screenplay.
Originally, NOT WITHOUT HOPE was supposed to be one of the first films to enter production following the coronavirus pandemic. Unfortunately, the global crisis is ongoing, and only a select few locations have been cleared for production at this time.
As for Teller, you'll be able to catch him as Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw in TOP GUN: MAVERICK, a sequel to Tom Cruise's classic action drama, TOP GUN (1986). Led by Cruise, the highly anticipated follow-up also stars Jennifer Connelly, Val Kilmer, Jon Hamm, Ed Harris, Jean Louisa Kelly, Glen Powell, Manny Jacinto, Monica Barbaro, Jay Ellis, and Lewis Pullman, among others. After taking flight from its original premiere day, TOP GUN: MAVERICK will now head toward the Danger Zone on July 2, 2021.