Having garnered international success for his globe-trotting action-thrillers “Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves,” “Seven Ancient Wonders,” and “The Tournament,” author Matthew Reilly now turns his attention to directing, with the upcoming Netflix action flick “Interceptor,” which will be released on the streaming platform June 3, 2022.
The film stars Fast and Furious regular Elsa Pataky as JJ Collins, a hardened military captain tasked with defending her missile interceptor base from a team of mercenaries, led by Alexander Kessel (Luke Bracey), who are intent on nuclear destruction. Aaron Glenane, Mayen Mehta, Rhys Muldoon, Belinda Jombwe, Marcus Johnson, Colin Friels and Zoe Carides also co-star.
In an interview with Netflix Tudum, Pataky spoke about preparing for her high-octane role: “In the four months leading up to filming, I was training four to five hours a day, learning all the moves. All 800 of them. It was really hard work, but I enjoyed every second of it.”
“Interceptor” is the latest in a recent surge of Netflix original action movies, some of which were major hits during the height of the pandemic. “Extraction” became the most-watched original film in Netflix’s history, with about 99 million households watching in its first four weeks; and “Red Notice,” starring Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot, became Netflix’s most-watched film within 28 days of release, and was the 5th most streamed movie of 2021. The golden touch might just carry over to “Interceptor,” too, with “Extraction” star—and Pataky’s husband—Chris Hemsworth serving as an executive producer on “Interceptor,” and “Extraction” director Sam Hargrave acting as the movie’s stunt coordinator.
Reilly co-wrote the script with Stuart Beattie (“Collateral” and “The Legend of Tarzan”), and has described it as “relentless, fast and uncompromising.” Commenting on his collaboration with Pataky, Reilly said, “[I] can’t believe how lucky I was to get Elsa Pataky as my lead. She’s a total pro: always ready, always prepared. She’s just an amazingly talented actress and was willing to get her hands dirty. The fights, the stunts, the swings: She did it all.”
Here’s the official synopsis:
The tough and reality-bruised Captain JJ Collins (Elsa Pataky) finds herself in charge of a lone nuclear missile interceptor base in the middle of the Pacific Ocean after she is wrongfully drummed out of her dream job at the Pentagon. When a simultaneous coordinated attack then threatens the base itself, Collins comes face-to-face with the charismatic yet crooked Alexander Kessel (Luke Bracey), a former US military intelligence officer intent on carrying out an unthinkable plan. With only minutes on the clock, Collins must utilize her years of tactical training and military expertise to determine who she can trust and stop Kessel and his covert mercenaries from completing their twisted and terrible mission.
“Inteceptor” debut June 3, 2022 on Netflix. Watch the first trailer below.