Peter Dinklage joins Fast and Furious filmmaker’s next movie with a John Wick twist

Here’s a tasty bit of film news for anyone who keeps an eye on action cinema: Peter Dinklage, aka Tyrion Lannister himself, is diving headlong into a new film with Kenji Tanigaki, the bloke behind the acrobatic mayhem of The Furious. If you’ve not caught that yet—it came out in June and critics have been tripping over themselves to praise it as one of the year’s top action flicks. (To be fair, it pulled in over $31 million, even up against Spielberg’s Disclosure Day, which is a fair old scrap at the box office.)

Right, what’s Dinklage actually doing next?

The project’s called The Reckoner, and if you’re thinking, 'That sounds a bit John Wick-ish'—you’re bang on. Turns out Derek Kolstad, the writer behind the first three John Wick films, is on script duty here. So expect sharp dialogue and quite possibly an unhealthy relationship with guns.

Production-wise, it’s a bit of a blockbuster setup. Lionsgate’s on board, as well as AGBO—yes, that’s the Russo brothers’ outfit, the same team behind all those Marvel megahits. AGBO’s also producing alongside a handful of others, including Angela Russo-Otstot, Michael Disco, Kassee Whiting, and David Ginsberg (that lot’s repping Estuary Films).

Full cast and crew snapshot (well, the bits we know):

• Peter Dinklage – starring and also producing
• Kenji Tanigaki – directing, fresh off The Furious
• Derek Kolstad – writing and producing (John Wick link, obviously)
• The Russo brothers – executive producing (via AGBO)
• Lionsgate – studio muscle, project supervision run by James Myers & Pavan Kalidindi

Is this another wild Dinklage career move?

In case you’ve lost track, Dinklage finished ruling Westeros after eight intense seasons, then showed up in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Wicked, the new Dexter: Resurrection, plus he’s popping up in season two of Alien: Earth. Seems he fancies a bit of everything lately.

The industry’s take

There’s a fair bit of heat around Tanigaki’s sudden rise. Lionsgate Motion Picture head Erin Westerman told The Hollywood Reporter:

'One of the most rewarding parts of what we do is discovering filmmakers with distinctive voices, bringing their work to wider theatrical audiences and partnering with them as they take on projects of greater scale and ambition. That’s exactly what excites us about Kenji Tanigaki. The Furious showcases a singular filmmaking talent, and we’re thrilled to reunite with our friends at AGBO to bring his bold vision for The Reckoner to audiences worldwide.'

Release date? Don’t hold your breath just yet

So far, there’s no word on when The Reckoner is actually landing in cinemas or on streaming. As soon as they nail down a date, it’ll be everywhere, obviously. For now, all eyes are on Tanigaki and Dinklage to see what sort of chaos they conjure up.