“Pacific Rim” star Charlie Hunnam is attached to star in John Hillcoat’s “Triple Nine,” while Oscar winners Christoph Waltz and Cate Blanchett are both in talks to join the cast of the Megan Ellison-financed crime thriller, according to individuals familiar with the project.
Anonymous Content’s Keith Redmon, Bard Dorros and Steve Golin are producing the movie, which Ellison is financing through her Panorama Media banner. Hillcoat (“The Road”) is directing from a script by Matt Cook.
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The title “Triple Nine” refers to police code indicating that an officer needs immediate assistance.
Story follows a group of thieves who plan to kill a young LAPD cop to divert the police away from a daring heist they’re perpetrating across town.
Hunnam will play the targeted officer, while Waltz is in talks to play Hunnam’s uncle, a fellow cop investigating the criminals. Blanchett would play the juicy role of a notorious mobster’s Lady Macbeth-esque wife who’s really pulling the strings behind the heist.
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The long-gestating project, which Hillcoat’s “Lawless” star Shia LaBeouf was once attached to, could start production before the end of the year. Chris Pine and Jeff Bridges were also circling a past incarnation of the movie at one point, though the script has since changed.
Hunnam, who is set to reteam with “Pacific Rim” director Guillermo del Toro on his next movie “Crimson Peak,” is repped by CAA, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and attorney David Weber.
Anonymous Content did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Update 5:16 p.m.: An earlier version of this story said Benicio del Toro was in early discussions to join the cast and producers were seeking to cast Idris Elba. Neither are expected to be involved with the project.)