Martial Arts Icon Iko Uwais to Star in Hospital Siege Thriller ‘MRI’
Martial arts icon Iko Uwais (“The Raid,” “Mile 22,” “Expend4bles”) will headline hospital siege thriller “MRI,” with Liam O’Donnell (“Alphas”) set to direct. Daniel Baur’s K5 Intl. has acquired the international sales rights to the picture, which it will launch at the American Film Market next month.
O’Donnell will reunite with Uwais for their third feature together after helming 2017’s “Beyond Skyline” and the anticipated “Skyline: Warpath.” The producers are Strong Island and Uwais Pictures.
“Iko’s sheer charisma, soulful depth and insane work ethic makes him every director’s dream,” O’Donnell said. “After such a great experience with Strong Island on ‘Alphas,’ I felt ‘MRI’ would be the perfect project for us all to take things to the next level.”
The plot centers on a broken-down hitman (Uwais) with a shattered family and a busted knee, who undergoes a routine MRI when the entire hospital is taken over by ruthless gangsters. Now, he’s the only man who can rescue their target, the daughter of a powerful crime boss, and somehow save the day, one agonizing step at a time. The script was written by Russell Hainline (Netflix’s “Hot Frosty”).
Strong Island’s Christopher Tuffin (“Freelance,” “Canary Black,” “Alphas”) will produce alongside Ryan Santoso for Uwais Pictures. Baur for K5 Intl., Amanda Delaplaine and Chris Ochs will executive produce.
“With the dominance of Asian-themed content in the marketplace, we feel ‘MRI’ is an ardent throwback to the classic martial arts films of the 1970s made for audiences born in the 2000s,” added Tuffin, whose recent credits include a string of box office and streaming hits including “Peppermint,” “Canary Black,” “Freelance” and “Sound of Freedom,” as well as such upcoming releases as the high seas actioner “Alphas” and the period action/thriller “The Butler,” starring Jean Reno and Tom Hollander.
Upcoming productions include “Last Meals,” starring Mads Mikkelson and Boyd Holbrook for director Ramin Bahrani (“99 Homes”).
Principal photography is anticipated to start in Jakarta early next year.
Best known for his martial arts prowess in the action movies “The Raid,” “The Raid 2” and “The Night Comes for Us,” Uwais has recently expanded his reach, from creating action choreography outfit Uwais Team, to building his own production company Uwais Pictures with Santoso. Their first picture “Ikatan Darah” premiered the opening night of Fantastic Fest to strong reviews with Uwais’ directorial debut “Timur” set to premiere Dec. 18 in Indonesia.
Uwais is repped by Gersh and Vault Entertainment. O’Donnell is repped by Strong Island, Sentient Entertainment, Innovative Artists Entertainment and Miloknay Weiner. Hainline is repped Game Plan Media.
