‘Cliffhanger’ Reboot Reconfigured: Sylvester Stallone Out, Lily James and Pierce Brosnan In
A “Cliffhanger” follow-up keeps on rolling. But now in a much different configuration.
Rocket Science in partnership with Thank You Pictures and Supernix has announced that filming is underway on “Cliffhanger,” a reboot of the 1993 action extravaganza that starred Sylvester Stallone and John Lithgow. This new version stars Lily James and Pierce Brosnan and is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, based on a story by Ana Lily Amirpour.
A proposed follow-up to “Cliffhanger” dates back to 1994, when TriStar announced “Cliffhanger 2: The Dam,” with Stallone returning. For years it sat fallow until 2019, when Amirpour was hired and Jason Momoa was earmarked to star. In 2023 it was re-announced as a legacy sequel, with Stallone set to return under the direction of Ric Roman Waugh. Mark Bianculli wrote that version of the script. Later in 2023, Jean-Fran?ois Richet was hired to replace Waugh.
And now the production has veered in an entirely different direction, jettisoning the sequel idea and returning, it seems to the initial idea that Amirpour had developed all those years ago.
The official synopsis for the new film follows: “Seasoned mountaineer Ray Cooper (Pierce Brosnan) and his daughter Sydney run a mountain chalet in the Dolomites. During a weekend trip with a billionaire’s son, they are targeted by a gang of kidnappers. Ray’s older daughter Naomi (Lily James), still haunted by a past climbing accident, witnesses the attack and escapes. To save her family, she must confront her fears and fight for survival in the Italian Dolomites.”
Additional cast members include Nell Tiger Free, Franz Rogowski, Shubham Saraf, Assaad Bouab, Suzy Bemba and Bruno Gouery. The film’s producers are Lars Sylvest of Thank You Pictures, Joe Neurauter of Supernix, Rocket Science’s Thorsten Schumacher, and Neal Moritz and Toby Jaffe.
The idea is for “Cliffhanger” to have a theatrical release (seems perfect for IMAX), with Rocket Science handling international sales, with CAA Media Finance representing North American and Chinese rights. Rocket Science has a partnership agreement with STUDIOCANAL for the film’s rights.
“Shooting our movie on location in the Dolomites using large format cameras was imperative for us to show the scope and scale of the story we’re telling. We’re going to bring the audience a truly thrilling and visceral, premium theatrical experience. Lily in particular has gone above and beyond for the role, putting in real training and learning to climb. Her dedication has allowed us to capture some incredible shots we couldn’t have achieved otherwise, and the whole crew is blown away by her commitment,” said Collet-Serra in an official statement.
Amirpour and Collet-Serra are executive producing. Chance Wright of Wright Productions and Front Row Entertainment’s Gianluca Chakra and Hisham Alghanim are co-investors and executive producers. Josef Brandmaier, Jeff Most, Katy Most, Matthew Stedman are executive producing for Level Field Media Finance. Philipp Kreuzer is executive producing for Supernix.
Kwesi Dickson and Jay Taylor are executive producing for Electric Shadow as well as MTG and Rodrigo Tarazona. Robert Daly Jr. and David Lipper are executive producing for Latigo Films. Kevan van Thompson is executive producing for Capfilms. Lily James is also executive producing through her production company Parodos Productions alongside partner Gala Gordon. Hungarian Hero Squared, Jonathan Halperyn and Daniel Kresmery are co-producing along with Jazmyn Tanski.
Cliffhanger is a co-production with partners in Spain, Germany, Austria, Italy, Hungary and the UK supported by FilmFernsehFonds Bavaria, German Federal Film Fund DFFF2, Fisa+, Cine Tirol Film Commission, IDM Film Commission South Tyrol, Spanish Tax Incentives and the Hungarian rebate.
Media Guarantors, a CAC Group company, is providing the completion bond.
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