Netflix has landed one of the biggest films to date as it was announced on Monday that the streaming service will release “Red Notice” starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
It was also revealed that Ryan Reynolds, from Deadpool, Free Guy and 6 Underground, will star alongside the Rock and Gal Gadot, from Wonder Woman 1984 and Death on the Nile, according to Deadline.
There was a bidding battle for the film last year where Netflix was the runner-up and the rights bought by Universal Pictures. At the time, the studio wanted to release it on November 13, 2020. That all changed last week once the filmmakers sensed hesitation from Universal in a meeting late last month.
Now, there is a 2020 production start for the Rawson Marshall Thurber-directed and -scripted movie. Thurber’s finished script was shown to Netflix 10 days ago. It was noted that Red Notice was one of the biggest film packages brokered last year.
The Rock will make $20 million for the film while an eight-figure deal for Thurber, who directed Johnson in Central Intelligence and Skyscraper. Netflix pays upfront salaries and buys out the backend, which means that Netflix has committed to arguably its biggest feature film to date as it will include a production budget in the $130 million range.
The film is an international action thriller centered around the pursuit of the most wanted art thief in the world. It takes place in multiple countries.
The Rock commented on the news by writing the following on his official Instagram account: