Academy Award-winner Morgan Freeman is set to join Luke Hemsworth in the upcoming action thriller movie Gunner. The award-winning actor will play the villainous kingpin in the movie against Hemsworth (Westworld), who plays the protagonist.
Gunner is an action thriller about a Special Ops veteran Lee Gunner (Hemsworth), who goes against a drug cartel after his two sons are kidnapped on a fishing trip. Gunner’s sons stumble upon a massive drug cartel operation which leads to them being kidnapped by the son of the gang’s kingpin Kendrick Ryker (Freeman). Despite being in prison, Ryker runs his organization successfully until he is faced with Gunner, who wrecks havoc on the gang in a bid to save his sons. Hemsworth’s character in the action thriller is described as an ex Special Ops operative with elite combat skills.
Speaking of Freeman’s casting, Highland Film Group COO Delphine Perrier described the actor as an incomparable talent. Perrier said: “Working again with such an incomparable talent like Morgan Freeman is fantastic, and we’re thrilled to team up with him for a second time in such a different and exciting role.”
Gunner’s director Dimitri Logothetis (Jiu Jitsu and Kickboxer: Retaliation) said he is privileged to be working with the actor on the movie, describing Freeman’s villain character as Thaddeus Bradley in Now You See Me as his favorite performance from the actor.
“I feel so privileged to have Morgan Freeman in Gunner. One of my most favorite and unforgettable performances of his is when he played the villain ‘Thaddeus Bradley’ in Now You See Me. Freeman is deceivingly complex and perfect for Gunner.”
Gunner will start filming this spring in Alabama. The action thriller is produced by Joel Shapiro (Killerman and Dear Dictator), and Logothetis and Gray Scott Thompson (The Fast and Furious) are co-writers. Other cast members for the upcoming movie are yet to be announced. Freeman will also appear in Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan’s Lioness.