Variety reports that Al Pacino and Kiefer Sutherland are set to star in Father Joe, an action thriller set in 1990s Manhattan that will be written and produced by Luc Besson. Additionally, Ever Anderson (who played the young Natasha Romanoff in Black Widow) will also appear.
Sutherland stars in Father Joe as “a man of faith who wages a violent war against the city’s criminal underworld,” while Pacino will play a “powerful mob boss whose empire collides with Father Joe’s crusade.” Anderson plays a “young woman caught between danger and redemption under Joe’s guidance.” Production is set to start filming in mid-October with Barthélémy Grossmann (Arthur: Malediction) helming the movie.
In a statement, Sutherland said, “I have been a fan of Luc Besson going back to ‘Subway’. As a director and a writer, he has a unique capacity to weave drama and action together without sacrificing either. I’m so excited about this opportunity to work with him as the writer of ‘Father Joe’ and director Barthélémy Grossmann. I can’t wait to get started.“
It’s been a long time since I’ve been genuinely excited about a Luc Besson movie. I wanted so badly to love Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, but despite a few flashes of fun, it just didn’t land for me. It wasn’t The Fifth Element, that’s for sure.
The most recent film from the French director was Dracula: A Love Tale, a gothic horror romance starring Caleb Landry Jones as the iconic vampire.
Based on the novel by Bram Stoker, Dracula: A Love Tale follows a “15th-century prince (Jones) who denounces God after the devastating loss of his wife. He inherits an eternal curse: he becomes Dracula. Condemned to wander the centuries, he defies fate and death itself, guided by a single hope – to be reunited with his lost love.” From what I’ve seen, it feels (and looks) quite reminiscent of Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
The film was released in France this summer and has largely received positive reviews, with critics praising its grand production and focus on Dracula’s romance. Vertical will release the film in North America on February 6, 2026. “This film is very close to my heart and has been a joy to create over the past two years,” Besson said in a statement. “At its core, it’s a love story—Dracula seen in a different light, as a man searching for his lost love over 400 years. It’s been incredible to see audiences connect with it around the world, and I’m thrilled to partner with Vertical to bring this story to North American audiences.“
