Bill Skarsgård, Samara Weaving, and Yayan Ruhian have been announced as the leads for Boy Kills World, an action movie set in a dystopian, fever dream reality that is being co-produced by Sam Raimi.
Skarsgård will play the protagonist simple named Boy, a deaf-mute with a vibrant imagination who escapes to the jungle after his family is murdered. He is then trained by a mysterious shaman to become an ‘instrument of death,’ with Weaving in a supporting role as an assassin, and martial arts veteran Ruhian playing Boy’s mentor.
German filmmaker Moritz Mohr reportedly caught Raimi’s eye with a detailed previsualization of the film’s cinematic approach, and was subsequently hired to make his feature debut on the project, with the script being written by Arend Remmers and Tyler Burton Smith.
Raimi will produce with Zainab Azizi through his Raimi Productions banner alongside Roy Lee of Vertigo Entertainment.
Raimi said in a statement: “I am thrilled to be partnering up again with Roy Lee on Moritz Mohr‘s Boy Kills World. Moritz has a brilliant sense for action, humor, and world building that I just cannot wait for the world to see. We are excited to be collaborating with Nthibah and Hammerstone to bring Moritz’s unique film to life.”
If anyone knows about mixing dark genres with humour, it’s Raimi, so this is high praise for an up-and-coming filmmaker. Raimi himself hasn’t made a film since 2013, and while he is directing the Doctor Strange sequel, he hasn’t made his typical brand of bonkers horror since 2009, so fans of his will be crossing their fingers that Boy Kills World can scratch that itch in a similar way.
Simon Swart, CEO of co-financiers Nthibah Pictures, added:
“Boy Kills World is set in a distinct dystopian world, combining real world themes with a stylized look that is fresh, cool and original, borrowing from the best of graphic novels. With a script that combines wild innovative action sequences, a sense of humor and a lot of crazy, this film has the potential to be a worldwide hit and potential franchise property.”
Skarsgård is fresh off playing Pennywise in two IT films, so he’s comfortable in horror-adjacent spaces, as is Weaving, who’s become a bit of a Scream Queen with roles in The Babysitter franchise and Ready Or Not (she also worked with Raimi before on Ash vs. Evil Dead). Ruhian wowed viewers in The Raid and has since been seen in both the Star Wars and John Wick franchises.
On the surface, the logline for Boy Kills World sounds like your typical revenge thriller, but Raimi’s high praise for Mohr’s inventiveness should make genre fans take notice. The film is currently gearing up to shoot in South Africa.
Raimi’s Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness is scheduled to hit cinemas on March 25, 2022.
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