‘Moonlight’ Star Mahershala Ali in Talks to Join Tom Hardy in ‘Triple Frontier’

Mahershala Ali, who recently won a SAG award for his role in “Moonlight,” is in talks to join Tom Hardy and Channing Tatum in Paramount’s “Triple Frontier.”

J.C. Chandor is directing from a script by Mark Boal.

Charles Roven and Alex Gartner of Atlas Entertainment are producing. Boal, Kathryn Bigelow, Stephen Jones, Neil Dodson, Anna Gerb will also serve as executive producers.

The film is set in the notorious border zone between Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil where the Iguazu and Parana rivers converge — making “la triple frontera” difficult to monitor and a haven for organized crime.

The film was originally supposed to be writer Boal and director Bigelow’s follow-up to “The Hurt Locker,” with actors including Tom Hanks, Will Smith, and Leonardo DiCaprio at one point showing interest in joining the ensemble. “Triple Frontier” was put on hold when Bigelow and Boal decided to move on to “Zero Dark Thirty,” with Bigelow eventually removing herself from the director’s chair to focus on other priorities.

This is Ali’s first major role since his critically acclaimed turn in A24’s Oscar-nominated “Moonlight.” His role as Juan, a drug dealer, has earned him many awards and nominations including an Oscar bid in the supporting actor category.

Ali is repped by WME, Anonymous Content and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern.

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