After wrapping production for Guy Ritchie’s In the Grey and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s dark romance musical The Bride, Jake Gyllenhaal is ready to slink back into the shadows for Code Black, an upcoming political thriller at Amazon MGM Studios, based on a short story by Harrison Query. The project bears a significant dollar sign as Deadline says the studio acquired the rights to Query’s story for seven figures.
In Code Black, the country’s top heart surgeon is flown to D.C. to perform a high-stakes operation, finding himself led into a trap where his guile and genius become the only way to stop a plot that threatens his family and the nation.
12:01 Films’ Scott Glassgold brought Code Black to Jake Gyllenhaal’s Nine Stories banner, with plans to develop the feature as a starring vehicle for Gyllenhaal. Josh McLaughlin will produce alongside Gyllenhaal through Nine Stories, with Lynn Harris and Matt Reeves of 6th & Idaho in talks, Glassgold via 12:01 Films, and Query via Ground Control.
Harrison Query is an in-demand filmmaker with multiple projects at various studios. In May, A24 won Query’s drama series spec Trigger Point after a heated six-way bidding war. Jeremy Saulnier (Green Room, Rebel Ridge, Blue Ruin) is directing and executive producing with Joe Hipps of Fifth Season. Harrison Query also penned Heads of State, an upcoming action thriller starring Idris Elba, John Cena, Paddy Considine, and Jack Quaid. Heads of State tells what happens when the UK Prime Minister and US President become the targets of a foreign adversary, and they’re forced to rely on one another to thwart a global conspiracy.
Jake Gyllenhaal recently starred in the Apple TV+ series Presumed Innocent with Ruth Negga, Bill Camp, and Renate Reinsve, among others. The nail-biting legal thriller revolves around a horrific murder that upends the Chicago Prosecuting Attorney’s office when one of its own is suspected of the crime. Created by David E. Kelley (The Practice, Big Little Lies), Presumed Innocent is based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Scott Turow.
What do you think about Jake Gyllenhaal joining forces with Harrison Query for Code Black? What kind of conspiracy can a surgeon get wrapped up in? We’ll find out more about Code Black when it comes to light.
