John David Washington is having a killer year. After becoming the breakout star of Spike Lee’s BlaKkKlansman in 2018, Washington nabbed a role in the Christopher Nolan tentpole Tenet, which hit theaters (to somewhat divisive results both critically and commercially) this year. And now Washington is continuing that killing streak with a thriller produced by Luca Guadagnino, Born to Be Murdered, which has just been picked up by Netflix.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix has acquired the global rights to Born to Be Murdered, a thriller starring John David Washington and produced by Luca Guadagnino that is set to be the English-language debut of director Ferdinando Cito Filomarino, who worked as a second unit director on Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name, A Bigger Splash” and Suspiria. Alicia Vikander (Earthquake Bird), Boyd Holbrook (Logan), and Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread) are also set to star.

Written by Kevin Rice, Born to be Murdered is set in Athens and the Epirus region of Greece and follows “a vacationing couple, played by Washington and Vikander, who fall prey to a violent conspiracy with tragic consequences.”

The movie’s got a vague synopsis but a great title that recalls that of Alfred Hitchcock suspense films. It’s too general a description to really be certain that Born to Be Murdered takes cues from Hitchcock, but that’s what I’m deciding, since Hitchcock is seeing renewed appreciation — both as a source of inspiration (see: Parasite, etc.) and in our ongoing rebootmania, with Netflix’s recent adaptation of Rebecca.

Guadagnino is producing Born to Be Murdered along with and Morabito for their Frenesy Films, as well as Francesco Melzi d’Eril and Gabriele Moratti for MeMo with Raicinema. Rodrigo Teixeira is executive producing for RT Features. While this is set to be Filomarino’s English-language debut, the filmmaker (who is related to Italian auteur Luchio Visconti) already made his feature directorial debut with the 2015 biopic Antonia.

And Filomarino has quite a line-up for his first English-language film. Washington, like I noted before, is having a banner year — having recently starred in Nolan’s Tenet, and will be seen soon in the upcoming Malcolm & Marie opposite Zendaya, which was filmed in quarantine and also acquired by Netflix. washington has also recently joined the cast of David O. Russell’s next film opposite Margot Robbie and Christian Bale. Vikander, Holbrook, and Krieps are all solid talents, with Krieps especially impressing in Phantom Thread.

Netflix is planning a release for Born to Be Murdered in 2021.

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