Keanu Reeves will star in Maelstrom, a Netflix action film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, replacing Alan Ritchson, who was in talks for the lead in July, Page Six Hollywood reported at 14:45 CET on Monday 26 October. Variety followed two hours later, and TheWrap separately reported that Reeves is attached. Netflix has made no announcement; Page Six said representatives for Reeves and the streamer did not comment.
Key facts
- Maelstrom: Netflix action thriller, directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (Carry-On).
- Keanu Reeves attached to star, replacing Alan Ritchson, who was in talks for the lead in July 2026 (reported, not confirmed by Netflix).
- Script: a 1993 spec by the late Gregory Fitzpatrick, sold to Warner Bros. at the time; Mark Bianculli has revised it.
- Producer: Jeff Robinov, the agent on the 1993 sale, as the first project under his Netflix deal.
- Not reported: start of filming, release date, budget, other cast.
The casting gives Netflix a second Collet-Serra film built from a long-dormant script, now reportedly led by the John Wick star.
A 33-year-old spec
A federal marshal protects an arms dealer’s fiancée, who is seeking witness protection so she can testify against him. Over one night a hurricane cuts them off from contact and backup, and they must fight off the dealer’s men as the storm hits, according to the synopsis carried by Variety and Page Six.
Gregory Fitzpatrick, then a first-time writer, sold the spec to Warner Bros. in 1993. Variety, citing its coverage from that year, said it was widely described then as Die Hard in a hurricane and sold for roughly $225,000–$625,000, or about $500,000–$1.4m after inflation by the trade’s reckoning. TheWrap recalled that some had expected more than $1m and that Renny Harlin was then considered to direct.
The agent on that sale was Jeff Robinov, then at ICM. He later ran Warner Bros. Pictures, where he oversaw The Dark Knight trilogy and The Hangover films. Variety reported in July that he is producing Maelstrom with Tabitha Shick and Talking Pictures, as the first film under his Netflix deal. Variety says Mark Bianculli (How to Rob a Bank) has revised Fitzpatrick’s draft; Page Six says he also wrote Cliffhanger, Collet-Serra’s remake starring Pierce Brosnan and Lily James.
The Carry-On template
Netflix film executive Ori Marmur is behind the project. He revived Carry-On, the Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman airport thriller that sat unmade for 11 years before Collet-Serra directed it. Variety reported in July that it became the third most-watched film in Netflix’s history, and that Marmur then asked leading producers for their best unmade high-concept projects. Maelstrom came back that way, with development executive Kira Cousineau.
The Ritchson talks
Variety’s exclusive of 14 July had Ritchson, star of Prime Video’s Reacher and Netflix’s War Machine, negotiating for the lead. Variety said on Monday the reason for his exit was unclear; TheWrap pointed to a possible War Machine sequel.
Reeves’s schedule
Reeves, 62, voices Shadow again in Sonic the Hedgehog 4, due in 2027, and appears in Tim Miller’s Shiver and Ruben Östlund’s The Entertainment System Is Down. Variety says he is in talks to lead James Wan’s The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil at Paramount, which World of Reel reports shoots in January.
Page Six noted the news came on Peter Rice’s first day as Netflix’s chief content officer, a change we covered in our report on Netflix’s 10 years in South Korea.
Our reading
Netflix is treating old studio inventory as development it does not have to originate. A 1993 spec with a one-line hook comes with a producer who knows its history. Carry-On showed the method can produce a hit; Maelstrom tests whether it holds with a bigger star reportedly attached.
For agents and producers holding dormant scripts, this shows that Netflix’s film team still buys contained, single-night action, and will take projects first bought by Robinov’s old studio, now owned by Paramount. The next evidence is a Netflix confirmation with a start date, and how it sits with the Wan film’s reported January shoot.