EXCLUSIVE: Willem Dafoe is joining Gerard Butler, Billy Bob Thornton and Common for Relativity Studios” submarine thriller Hunter Killer. The film concerns a renegade Russian military leader whose actions lead to the brink of war with the U.S. It”s then up to an elite U.S. Navy unit to stop him from causing World War III. Dafoe has been cast as Russian submarine Capt. Andropoyov.
Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, Green Lantern) directs from a script by Peter Craig, based on the novel Firing Point by George Wallace and Don Keith. Produced by Original Films” Neil Moritz and Toby Jaffe, in association with Relativity CEO Ryan Kavanaugh, it”s executive produced by Tucker Tooley, Arne Schmidt, and Butler. Hunter Killer is scheduled to begin filming in New Orleans in July.
Dafoe will next be seen in alongside Matt Damon in The Great Wall, directed by Zhang Yimou. He”s repped by CAA and Circle of Confusion.