Al Pacino, forever remembered for his intimidating and complex performance in The Godfather, is taking on the role of another crime boss in an intriguing new action thriller. Starring alongside him will be Kiefer Sutherland and Ever Anderson, the latter of whom broke out with the role of young Natasha Romanoff in the MCU’s Black Widow movie.
Today (October 13), Variety announced that Pacino is starring in the thriller Father Joe, set in 1990s Manhattan, written and produced by Luc Besson (Leon: The Professional). Sutherland will play a man of faith who campaigns against the city’s criminals, clashing with Pacino’s mob boss character. Meanwhile, a young woman (Anderson) under Joe’s supervision is caught in the fray.
Barthélémy Grossmann (Arthur: Malediction) is directing Father Joe, which starts filming this month. This sets up Father Joe for a potential release late next year, if it hopes to compete in the 2027 awards season. Sutherland is also producing, as well as the companies LB Production and EuropaCorp. Sutherland said in a statement:
I have been a fan of Luc Besson going back to Subway. As a director and a writer, he has a unique capacity to weave drama and action together without sacrificing either. I’m so excited about this opportunity to work with him as the writer of Father Joe and director Barthélémy Grossmann. I can’t wait to get started.
If Father Joe is critically well-received, it could launch 17-year-old Anderson, already a significant rising star, to new levels of fame. Following her short but impactful performance in Black Widow, Anderson won another high-profile role as one of the titular characters in Disney’s 2023 movie Peter Pan & Wendy. Anderson also appears in Resident Evil: The Final Chapter and Bionic Buzz.
Pacino stepping into another role in the crime genre will always be welcome, having cemented his legacy in this space with The Godfather, Scarface, Heat, The Irishman, and more. However, this new movie seems as though it will be putting more focus on his rival; Kiefer Sutherland was the headliner of the action series 24, but also appears in thoughtful pictures like Melancholia.
Sutherland’s comment on Besson’s “capacity to weave drama and action together” perhaps offers some hints of what Father Joe will look like, doubtlessly thrilling with compelling fight scenes but also grounded in its characters. In particular, Pacino and Sutherland’s battle may be central as they clash with each other on a moral level and espouse very different worldviews.
However, it is still probably Anderson who will emerge as the heart of this forthcoming movie, if how the conflict affects a young person caught in the middle of it becomes a core theme. With a legend like Al Pacino on board, the production is probably at least hoping for some awards recognition next year, which they will get if this is indeed a fresh crime thriller with a clear point.
- Birthdate
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April 25, 1940
- Birthplace
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New York City, New York, USA