Walton Goggins has signed on to star opposite Amber Midthunder in Painter, an action movie project from John Wick creator Derek Kolstad that was just acquired by 20th Century Studios.
As part of the acquisition, James Cameron, whose Avatar films call 20th Century home, will act as an executive producer.
Garrett Warren, a veteran stunt coordinator who has worked with Cameron on two Avatar movies plus such films as Logan and last year’s Road House reboot, is making his feature directorial debut with the project.
Painter centers on a young woman, trained from a young age, who must employ every skill in her arsenal to rescue her father after he is kidnapped. Midthunder, who starred in 20th Century’s Predator movie Prey, is playing the young woman. Goggins will play the father.
Painter was originally a sales title from FilmNation at AFM last fall, generating heat for being the directorial debut of stunt specialist Warren and a new and original story by Kolstad. It caught the eye of Cameron, who steered it to 20th Century Studios. Reacher star Alan Ritchson was originally attached to opposite Midthunder but bowed out due to scheduling conflicts.
Drew Simon and Sam Speiser of FilmNation’s production banner Infrared Pictures will produce Painter along with Kolstad and his manager Josh Adler.
J.R. Young will oversee the project for 20th Century
Midthunder has had a busy year, appearing opposite Jack Quaid in Paramount action movie Novocaine as well as appearing in A24’s thriller Opus opposite Ayo Edebiri and John Malkovich. Both were released on March 14, which made the weekend an exciting double-header for the actress. Next up, she will be seen as one of the stars of the series adaptation of Stephen King novel Carrie for Prime Video.
Goggins is in the midst of a zenith year that shows no signs of stopping. He was a highlight in season three of HBO’s The White Lotus, his performance earning him an Emmy nomination for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series.
Goggins also reprised his role in the fourth and final season of The Righteous Gemstones and appeared in the film The Uninvited, directed by his wife, Nadia Conners, and that premiered at the South by Southwest Festival.
He next reprises his fan-favorite role of The Ghoul in Amazon’s hit and acclaimed video adaptation series Fallout, with the second season of premiering on Amazon Dec. 17.
Midthunder is repped by CAA, Corner Booth Entertainment, and Jackoway Austen. Goggins is repped by CAA and Darris Hatch Management.
