
*Idris Elba is set to drive on a road full of action by starring in Marvel Studios and DC producer Simon Hatt’s directorial debut “Hammer Down.”
The film’s origin stems from a “Hammer Down” short film Hatt shot starring “This Is Us” fixture Chris Sullivan as a widowed truck driver who goes by the handle Hammer Down. The Hollywood Reporter notes the “Hammer Down” short feature also starred Abigail Dylan Harrison as Hammer Down’s young daughter, who rode with her father as he attempted to deliver a mysterious package.
For Hatt, the film was personal, as he grew up in the United Kingdom with his truck driver father.
Elba’s film version will find him playing a character named Mac, who is described in the synopsis for “Hammer Down” as “the best at what he does, driving a big rig truck across the country with a “no questions asked” policy about the goods he transports.
“When he takes his tenacious teenage daughter along for a job, they are tracked and attacked by a relentless group of criminals that will stop at nothing to secure the consignment he has been entrusted to deliver,” the summary added. “Pursued by both criminals and the police, Mac and his daughter must work together to prevent the cargo from falling into dangerous hands and survive to live another day.”

In addition to being in front of the camera, Elba will serve as a producer on “Hammer Down,” alongside Gina Carter via their 22Summers banner. Seasoned producer Charles Roven, who won his first Oscar earlier this year for best picture winner Oppenheimer, is also on board as a” Hammer Down” producer via his Atlas Entertainment along with the company’s Madison Weireter, the Reporter noted.
Before signing on for the actioner, Hatt is known for producing superhero movies with Marvel Studios and DC. “Hammer Down” marks the latest collaboration between Elba, Roven and Hatt. The trio previously worked together on James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad,” in which Elba starred with Margot Robbie, John Cena, Sylvester Stallone, Pete Davidson and Viola Davis.
News of the “Luther” star’s “Hammer Down” alliance with Hatt follows his Emmy nomination for the Apple series “Hijack,” as well as his big screen voice role in the upcoming “Sonic the Hedgehog 3.” and work on the next film from “The Hurt Locker” director Kathryn Bigelow.
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