Netflix acquires Will Smith-starrer Fast & Loose from STXfilms

The film will be directed by David Leitch. Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber have written the script for the action thriller.

 The plot follows the story of John Riley (Will Smith), a man who is left for dead in Tijuana after an attack. John wakes up only to realise that he can’t remember anything. As he puts together bits and pieces of clues from his past life after reuniting with his crew, he realises that he has been living two lives—one, as a kingpin of a criminal organisation and the other, as an undercover CIA agent. 

As a crime kingpin, John lived a super luxurious lifestyle; while as a CIA agent, he had no personal life, low salary, and no trappings of a larger-than-life success story. However, John cannot remember which of the two is his real identity and which life he really wants to live, and that creates the crux of the narrative.

Back in February, Deadline reported that the Fast & Furious package was landing on the market to be up for grabs by every big player in the bidding. 

Netflix won the rights in the end and negotiated the terms of the deal in due time.

 Deadpool 2 and Hobbs & Shaw director David Leitch and wife Kelly McCormick will bankroll the film under the 87North banner. STX films and Will Smith’s production house Westbrook Studios’ will also produce the film with co-president and head of Motion Pictures, Jon Mone Ryan Shimazaki and James Lassiter.

 Apart from Fast & Loose, Will Smith’s Westbrook Studios is backing a remake of the 1980s John Hughes film titled Plains, Trains & Automobiles in the pipeline, that also stars him with Kevin Hart. There’s also the real-life slave narrative in Emancipation, written by N. Collage that features Smith as Peter, the runaway slave from Louisiana plantation who went up north and was conscripted into the Union Army during the Civil War. Smith will also be seen as Richard Williams, father of the tennis talents Serena and Venus Williams in the much-talked-about King Richard. The upcoming sports drama Redd Zone, starring Jada Pinkett Smith, will also be helmed by Smith’s production house.

 The upcoming projects of 87North include The Fall Guy, which stars Ryan Gosling and is directed by Leitch. There’s also the Netflix thriller Kate featuring Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Woody Harrelson in the pipeline. The banner has recently wrapped up the production on Bullet Train, the assassin action film directed by Leitch that features Brad Pitt, Zazie Beetz, Michael Shannon, and Bad Bunny in the lead roles.