EXCLUSIVE: Tom Hopper (The Terminal List: Dark Wolf) is set to star opposite Jessica Alba in The Mark, the action thriller from director Justin Chadwick (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom), which we scooped in April.
Also new to the project is Will Smith’s Westbrook Studios, which has boarded to produce, with Highland Film Group handling international rights.
The Mark is a spy flick centered on Eden (Alba), an enigmatic spy on a covert and dangerous mission. When Eden pulls single father Ben Dawson (Hopper) into her world of high-stakes espionage, his life is turned upside down. Mistaken for the world’s deadliest assassin, Ben becomes the perfect decoy for Eden. She uses the mix-up to expose a powerful network of corrupt politicians, placing Ben in the crosshairs of the CIA, Interpol, and ruthless crime syndicates. With enemies closing in from all sides, Eden must keep Ben alive long enough to complete her mission — while Ben must summon his inner action hero to stay alive and return to the person who matters most: his daughter.
Ronnie Christensen (Passengers, Incarnate) wrote the script. The film is produced by Alba under her Lady Metalmark Entertainment umbrella, Arianne Fraser (Land of Bad), Delphine Perrier (Arcadian) and Henry Winterstern (the Underworld franchise) for Highland Film Group, Kia Jam (The Misfits, Lucky Number Slevin) for K. Jam Media, alongside Kosaku Yada for Westbrook Studios (Bad Boys: Ride or Die, King Richard), Tracey Vieira (Land of Bad) for Hoodlum and Peter Jákl (Locked). Will Smith and Miguel Melendez are exec producing on behalf of Westbrook alongside Tracey Nyberg for Lady Metalmark, Chadwick, Ceasar Richbow (Protector), Latavius Powell (The Florist), Jason Hope (Ashley), Tracey Robertson (Land of Bad) and Nathan Mayfield (Land of Bad) for Hoodlum, and Jeff Kranzdorf (The Courier), Gevork Semeriyan and Abraham Kesablyan for Falcon Films.
In addition to handling rights, Highland Film Group is co-financing the project alongside Aperture Media Partners, with production underway in Queensland, Australia. The film is supported by the Australian Government through the Location Offset, the Queensland Government through Screen Queensland’s Production Attraction Strategy, and the Local Government through the City of Gold Coast’s Screen Attraction Program.
In a statement to Deadline on the latest casting for The Mark, Highland CEO Arianne Fraser told us, “Tom Hopper is an exceptionally talented actor who embodies the qualities to become one of the next great action stars – he is the perfect partner to play opposite the brilliant Jessica Alba as they dive into a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse. They will bring sharp banter and chemistry in this high-stakes espionage thriller loaded with non-stop action and cinematic scale.”
Known for his starring role opposite Elliot Page and Aidan Gallagher in Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy, Hopper was recently seen starring with Taylor Kitsch and Chris Pratt in Amazon’s The Terminal List: Dark Wolf, a prequel series to The Terminal List. His film credits include Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, SAS: Red Notice opposite Sam Heughan, the romantic comedy I Feel Pretty with Amy Schumer, and Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City.
Additional television credits include HBO’s Game of Thrones, Starz’s Black Sails, and the cult favorite BBC1 series Merlin. The actor is repped by Gersh, Range Media Partners, Waring McKenna, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.
The post Tom Hopper Joins Jessica Alba In Spy Pic ‘The Mark’; Will Smith’s Westbrook Studios Also Newly Aboard appeared first on Deadline.
