Keanu Reeves replaces Alan Ritchson for Netflix's Die Hard-style action movie

First sold as a spec script to Warner Bros. in 1993, Maelstrom tells the story of a federal marshal assigned to protect the fiancée of an arms dealer seeking witness protection, just as she prepares to drop a dime on her former paramour to the feds. Over the course of a single night, the pair are forced to fight the dealer’s cronies as a hurricane blows in. The film will be directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, who previously picked up another relic script for Netflix and turned it into Carry-On with Taron Egerton, which became a hit for the streamer. In fact, Page Six goes on to report that the success of Carry-On prompted Ori Marmur, VP of Original Studio Film at Netflix, to solicit the “best unmade, high-concept projects” from Hollywood producers, which is how Maelstrom came to the streamer. 

Page Six also cites an ancient Variety item that referred to Warner Bros.’ 1993 purchase of Maelstrom, from then-new screenwriter Greg Fitzpatrick, as an “inventory move” by Warner Bros. to deepen its stockpile of Die Hard-coded action vehicles for the likes of Clint Eastwood, Sylvester Stallone, and, yes, Steven Seagal, which was the style at the time. *snaps suspenders* Mark Bianculli, who’s written a remake of Collet-Serra’s Cliffhanger remake for Netflix, has given Malestrom a polish.