Dead Snow director Tommy Wirkola and Gerard Butler gravitate to sci-fi thriller Afterburn

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Tommy Wirkola, the Norwegian helmer behind the nazi zombie horror-comedy DEAD SNOW and the upcoming (long-delayed) HANSEL AND GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS, has climbed aboard AFTERBURN, a futuristic sci-fi thriller that Gerard Butler is attached to. Relativity Media is producing.

Based on the graphic novel by Scott Chitwood and Paul Ens, AFTERBURN is set in a future where solar flares have left half the world a ravaged wasteland filled with mutants and pirates. Buried beneath the ash and rubble are priceless artifacts and some of the world’s most valuable works of art — for which wealthy Americans will pay any price. The story centers on a treasure hunter who leads his team into the quarantine zone, braving rival bounty hunters, rogue armies, pirate gangs and deadly mutants along the way.

Neal Moritz, Toby Jaffe, Tobey Maguire and Ryan Kavanaugh are producing AFTERBURN, which at one point was meant to be directed by Antoine Fuqua. While Butler is lined up to star, ultimately his involvement will be determined by the film’s schedule.