Saban Films Takes ‘Soul Assassin’ Starring Bruce Willis, Nomzamo Mbatha (EXCLUSIVE)

In a statement buy, Saban Films has acquired rights to North America – along with Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, France, South Africa and Scandinavia – on Bruce Willis starrer “Soul Assassin.”

Directed by Jesse Atlas, the revenge thriller also stars Nomzamo Mbatha (“Coming 2 America”) and Barry Jay Minoff (“Exposure”). Atlas wrote “Soul Assassin” along with Aaron Wolfe, based on their short film, “Let Them Die Like Lovers.” Jeff Elliott (“Beast of Burden,” “Untogether,” “The Poison Rose”) produced; 120dB Films co-financed the film with Elliott’s Brickell & Broadbridge.

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Set to release in 2022, “Soul Assassin” recently wrapped principal photography. It turns on a former black-ops soldier who takes the place of a man who died as part of an experimental military program, in order to find out who killed him.

Saban Films have boarded multiple Willis movies of late such as Chuck Russell’s recently announced “Paradise City,” Jared Cohn’s “Reactor,” and the recently released “Cosmic Sin” and the “Breach.”

“We love working with Bruce and are particularly excited for ‘Soul Assassin,’” said Saban Films’ president Bill Bromiley.
“Jesse’s ‘Let Them Die Like Lovers’ was such a high-concept, character-driven thriller and we can’t wait for audiences to see this revenge story,” he added.

Bromiley negotiated the deal for Saban with Brickell & Broadbridge on behalf of the producers. Brickell & Broadbridge, which recently co-financed and produced Saban Film’s “The Vanished,” is handling worldwide sales.

Saban Films has bought movies for North America and the U.K. after partnering in September with the Altitude Media Group across the U.K. and Ireland. “The Soul Assassin” acquisition for half the major film markets in the world takes the U.S. company into another league, however.

Rolling off recent deals with distribution partners across numerous territories including Austria, France, Germany, Scandinavia and Spain, Saban Films’ new scale will allow it to compete better for titles with platforms, offering a theatrical opening which many studio streamers do not provide.

Saban’s hits have run the gamut of theatrical movies such as “The Homesman,” starring Hilary Swank; August’s digital hit “The Silencing,” a thriller with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau; and Fathom Events’ such as “3 From Hell,” from Rob Zombie, and Kevin Smith’s “Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.”

Recent theatrical triumphs take in horror reboot “Wrong Turn,” produced by Constantin and starring Charlotte Vega and Matthew Modine which opened in U.S. theaters on Jan. 26, grossing $1.25 million despite COVID-19.

Saban Films continued to release films theatrically during the pandemic, bigger bows including Ian Nelms and Eshom Nelms’ “Fatman” with Mel Gibson in October 2020 and Brad Furman’s “City of Lies,” starring Johnny Depp and Forest Whitaker, which opened in March 2021.

The company’s upcoming slate also includes: Todd Randall’s “Under the Stadium Lights,” starring Laurence Fishburne and Milo Gibson, and Joel David Moore’s horror thriller “Hide and Seek,” headed by Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

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