Gareth Evans already made one movie with Netflix – the gnarly folk-horror flick Apostle. Now, he’s sticking with them, having just signed an exclusive deal to produce and direct films for the streaming service. And first up will be Havoc, a crime thriller that stars the lord of the mumbly actors, Tom Hardy. Evans has been doing prep-work for Havoc for a while now, and his Instagram has been filled with pre-production images. The plan now is to start filming in June.

Netflix announced that Gareth Evans (The Raid) has signed an exclusive deal to produce and direct films for the studio for the next several years – and first up is Havoc. Tom Hardy (Venom, Dunkirk) will star in the film, which means that we’re on the cusp of yet another memorable Tom Hardy performance where he uses a weird voice and does weird stuff. This is not a complaint, by the way – the weirder Tom Hardy goes, the more entertained we’ll all be. Whether he’s playing a diaper-wearing Al Capone, or Eddie Brock climbing into a lobster tank, Tom Hardy always delivers.

In Havoc, “After a drug deal gone wrong, a bruised detective must fight his way through a criminal underworld to rescue a politician’s estranged son, while unraveling a deep web of corruption and conspiracy that ensnares his entire city.” Evans has been posting about the film on his Instagram for a while now – including previs work, stunt training, and shot lists. THR adds that the plan is to start shooting in Wales in June.

Evans rose to prominence with his Indonesian action pics Merantau and The Raid, with The Raid in particular launching him to international attention. Evans’ other credits include the series Gangs of London, and the films The Raid 2 and Apostle. Apostle marked the first time he worked with Netflix. Clearly, he enjoyed the experience and was willing to sign this exclusive deal with them. Netflix has been making similar exclusive deals with other filmmakers – Noah Bambauch just signed one, and David Fincher revealed he had signed one as well last year. It’s almost like Netflix is building their own version of the classic Hollywood studio system, with exclusive players and creatives they keep in house.

I’ve enjoyed most of Evans’ work (I thought Apostle had some great stuff but was way too long), so I’m excited to see how Havoc shakes out, and I’m also excited to see what else he delivers for Netflix in the future.

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