With a reported budget of $55 million, the untitled war film will see Gyllenhaal as Sergeant John Kinley, a former soldier who must return to the Afghanistan war zone to save the life of interpreter and friend Ahmed (played by Dar Salim), whose family was denied safe passage into the US. With enemy combatants also looking for Ahmed, it’s a race against time as Kinley attempts to repay Ahmed for saving his life on a previous tour.
The film, which will stream exclusively on Prime Video in international markets, has begun filming in Alicante, Spain, according to Deadline. Gyllenhaal stars as Sergeant John Kinley, a soldier who returns to an Afghanistan war zone to save the life of an interpreter, who had previously saved his hide first on a previous tour.
Dar Salim will star as the interpreter Ahmed, who Gyllenhaal’s Kinley is trying to save. Other newly announced cast members include Alexander Ludwig, Antony Starr, Jason Wong, Bobby Schofield, Sean Sagar, and Emily Beecham. Unlike international markets which will have to stream the film, it will receive a theatrical release in the United States via MGM’s United Artists subsidiary, which was recently acquired by the studio.
Ritchie directs from a script co-written with Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies. Ritchie and Atkinson are producing alongside Josh Berger and STXfilms’ John Friedberg. Olga Filipuk (of Yandex-owned Kinopoisk) and Samantha Waite are executive-producing. The film is set to be released in 2023, no release date is confirmed yet.