The Cliffhanger reboot has received something of a creative shakeup.
Sylvester Stallone is no longer attached to the movie, which would have seen the actor reprising his role of Gabe Walker from the original 1993 movie. Instead, per Variety, Lily James will lead Cliffhanger, with Pierce Brosnan in a co-starring role. Brosnan will play seasoned mountaineer Ray Cooper, who operates a luxury chalet in the Dolomites with daughter Sydney. During a weekend trip with a billionaire’s son, they are targeted by a gang of kidnappers. Ray’s daughter Naomi (James), still haunted by a past climbing accident, witnesses the attack and escapes. To save her family, she must confront her fears and fight for survival.
Jaume Collet-Serra will direct the movie, replacing Ric Roman Waugh, who was attached when the reboot was envisioned as a legacy sequel to the 1993 movie. Mark Bianculli’s script has also been tossed, with the new script based on a story by Ana Lily Amirpour that insiders have described as a father-daughter take on Die Hard. This shakeup comes more than five years after Amirpour was tapped to helm a (since scrapped) female-led remake of Cliffhanger. Are there some shades of this old version in the new script? We’ll have to wait until someone interviews Amirpour to find out!
Filming is already underway in Austria with a supporting cast that includes Nell Tiger Free (The First Omen), Franz Rogowski (Passages), Shubham Saraf (Shantaram), Assaad Bouab (Franklin), Suzy Bemba (Poor Things), and Bruno Gouery (Emily in Paris).
“Shooting our movie on location in the Dolomites using large format cameras was imperative for us to show the scope and scale of the story we’re telling. We’re going to bring the audience a truly thrilling and visceral, premium theatrical experience,” said Collet-Serra in a statement. “Lily in particular has gone above and beyond for the role, putting in real training and learning to climb. Her dedication has allowed us to capture some incredible shots we couldn’t have achieved otherwise, and the whole crew is blown away by her commitment.”
Cliffhanger will pursue a theatrical release with Rocket Science handling international sales and CAA Media Finance representing North American and Chinese territories. Rocket Science has a partnership agreement with Studiocanal for the film’s rights. We’ll keep you posted when Cliffhanger lands a distributor and receives a release date.
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