Chris Pratt Sci-Fi Thriller ‘Mercy’ With Director Timur Bekmambetov Lands at Amazon’s MGM Studios

In a deal made last week, Amazon MGM Studios has landed Mercy, a package with Chris Pratt attached to star, according to an insider with knowledge. Timur Bekmambetov (“Wanted”) will direct the sci-fi thriller from a script penned by Marco van Belle (“Arthur & Merlin”).

This project comes to Amazon MGM Studios from Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe Award-winning producer Charles Roven (“American Hustle”), who received a second Academy Award nomination for Best Picture most recently on “Oppenheimer.” Roven will produce Mercy with Atlas Entertainment SVP Robert Amidon as part of the producing team alongside Bekmambetov’s Bezelevs and film producer Majd Nassif.

The film is targeting a spring start-of-production. Set in the near future when capital crime has increased, “Mercy” follows a detective (Pratt) who is accused of a violent crime and forced to prove his innocence.

Amazon MGM Studios will release Mercy in theaters worldwide.

The film is the first in a series of new titles the studio is greenlighting for theatrical distribution. Amazon MGM Studios continues to greenlight films both for theatrical and streaming, the latter of which includes the upcoming “Road House,” which was previously reported as a streaming release from the jump.

“Mercy” will mark a reunion for Pratt and Bekmambetov, both alums of “Wanted,” a 2008 action film based on Mark Millar’s comic book. Bekmambetov’s Hollywood directorial debut grossed more than $342 million worldwide and earned two Oscar nominations.

Bekmambetov broke out with the fantasy epic “Night Watch” (2004). His innovations in digital filmmaking earned Bekmambetov’s production company BEL a place in Fast Company’s Top 10 Most Innovative video companies in the world in 2021.

Meanwhile, Roven is a producer on some of the most commercially successful films of our time such as “The Dark Knight Trilogy,” “Oppenheimer,” “Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” and “Wonder Woman.” His films have grossed almost $11 billion to-date at the worldwide box office, making him one of the highest grossing producers of all time.

“From the moment Chuck Roven brought us ‘Mercy’ and we read Marco van Belle’s script, we knew the film was meant for the big screen,” Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon MGM Studios, said in a statement. “As our relationship with ‘The Terminal List’ and ‘The Tomorrow War’s’ Chris Pratt continues to extend across film, we can’t wait to watch him bring this action-packed story to life, guided by Chuck and the vision of director Timur Bekmambetov. We could not imagine a better star and filmmaking team to execute on and deliver what is sure to be a gripping thrill ride and look forward to audiences being able to experience it in theaters.”

“I could not be more thrilled to partner with Amazon MGM Studios on the release of ‘Mercy,’” Roven added. “I have a longstanding working relationship with both motion picture and marketing chiefs Courtenay Valenti and Sue Kroll— whom have institutional knowledge of theatrical and proven track records of success at the box office. I am looking forward to reuniting with them in this new capacity, along with Jen Salke and the rest of the terrific team at Amazon MGM.”

“Amazon is the ideal partner for telling this crucial story about the future challenged by artificial intelligence and for engaging in this conversation with a wide audience,” Bekmambetov added. “I’m happy to reunite with Chris Pratt on this project, who, since the release of ‘Wanted,’ has become one of the highest-grossing actors of our time. Collaborating with Chuck Roven will help us create an epic cinematic experience.”

“Mercy” will further expand Chris Pratt’s relationship with Amazon MGM Studios, from which the hit series “The Terminal List” hails. Prime Video previously confirmed the second season of the fan-favorite, action-thriller series and has ordered the prequel “The Terminal List: Dark Wolf,” which will also star Taylor Kitsch, to series. On the film side, Pratt recently starred in Prime Video’s “The Tomorrow War” and “The Jurassic World” franchise.

Pratt is repped by UTA, Rise Management, and Sloane, Offer, Weber and Dern. Bekmambetov is repped by WME. Roven is repped by WME and attorney Michael Schenkman. van Belle is represented by Paradigm, Zero Gravity Management and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller & Hoberman.

Deadline first reported the news.

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