John Boyega and Robert De Niro have both worked with Netflix before – the former will soon be seen in Jeremy Saulnier‘s thriller Rebel Ridge, the latter starred in Martin Scorsese‘s The Irishman – and they’re returning to the streaming giant again, this time teaming up for a heist movie titled The Formula.
Gerard McMurray (The First Purge) will write and direct the film, which will find Boyega playing a Formula One racing prodigy forced to become a getaway driver to save the only family he has left.
The project also marks a return to Netflix for McMurray, who previously directed one of the streamer’s first original features, Burning Sands. He will produce under his newly-formed Buppie Productions alongside De Niro, as well as Jane Rosenthal and Berry Welsh, who have an overall deal at Netflix. Jason Michael Berman will executive produce.
The film sounds a little Drive-esque, but there’s not much else to go on. Boyega is still working to escape the shadow of his Star Wars role, while De Niro’s modern day output usually goes one of two ways. When he works with great directors, he can still go. But too often he’s been slumming it in very forgettable movies. McMurray isn’t yet a great director, so we’ll see how this one turns out.
Boyega just starred in one of Steve McQueen‘s Small Axe films, Red, White & Blue, and is currently filming They Cloned Tyrone with Jamie Foxx.
De Niro will next be seen alongside Morgan Freeman and Tommy Lee Jones in crime comedy The Comeback Trail, while he recently wrapped indie movie Wash Me In The River and has signed on for a role in David O. Russell‘s next project.
#Peace.Love.TheFormula
