EXCLUSIVE: United Artists isn’t done adding to an already loaded film slate as sources tell Deadline that Scott Stuber’s company and Amazon MGM Studios have greenlit an untitled thriller with Denzel Washington set to star Christopher McQuarrie on board to direct. Scott Barkan and Gregg Zehentner penned the script.
The film will bow in theaters on October 1, 2027.
The plot centers on a former police detective serving a life sentence who is diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Granted compassionate release with six months to live, he returns home to the estranged daughter he left behind and a grandson he never knew existed. He only wants to make amends and forget his dark past, but his dark past has not forgotten him.
McQuarrie will also produce alongside Heather McQuarrie along with Stuber and Nick Nesbitt, who produce through United Artists; Joseph Restaino for Hungry Bull Productions; Reza Moheet and Norman Aladjem for Mainstay Entertainment; Katia Washington; and Tommy Harper. Hungry Bull’s Tony Stopperan, Mainstay’s Tim Honigman and Joe Guest will serve as executive producers
As for Washington, the two-time Oscar winner had been planning to reunite with Antoine Fuqua this fall for the Netflix epic about ancient Carthaginian general Hannibal. Those plans were put on pause when pre-production was halted following budgetary issues. The stoppage allowed Washington to refocus on other projects, with this film moving to the top of the list following meetings with McQuarrie that ultimately led to Washington giving the thumbs-up. Producers will now look to fill the role of Washington’s daughter.
Most recently, Washington has made his return to the Broadway stage in Othello alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, and starred in Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest. Up next, he will star in Netflix’s The Take (formerly titled Here Comes the Flood) alongside Robert Pattinson and Daisy Edgar-Jones. That film is slated to release in 2027.
After a decade redefining the modern action spectacle with Mission: Impossible, Oscar winner McQuarrie returns to the crime genre he helped define with films like Jack Reacher, The Way of the Gun and The Usual Suspects. He most recently helped helm the last four Mission: Impossible films including the most recent Mission: Impossible -The Final Reckoning.
With UA, Stuber is now in production on Lizard Music, the next collaboration between Dwayne Johnson and Benny Safdie. It is also in post-production on a new version of Highlander starring Henry Cavill, and is prepping Michael Mann’s Heat 2 starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Christian Bale, and The Mandela Catalogue, the analog horror adaptation with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment to be directed by series creator Alex Kister.
In partnership with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s Artist Equity Independent Pictures, Hungry Bull recently wrapped production on Downriver starring Jessica Biel, Garrett Hedlund and Jake Lacy.
Next up for Mainstay on the big screen is the genre-bending vampire western The Sun Always Sets in the West at Lionsgate, set for a 2027 start date. On TV, Mainstay recently produced The Matchmaker with Patti Stanger at the CW.
Washington is represented by WME. McQuarrie is represented by CAA and Greenberg Glusker. Barkan and Zehentner are represented by Mainstay Entertainment and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller, Gellman, Meigs & Fox.