Filmmaker Nikhil Nagesh Bhat, who earned widespread recognition for the action thriller Kill, is set to make his Hollywood debut with Deadlocked. The English-language action thriller will feature Academy Award-winning actor Jamie Foxx in the lead role.
The project has landed at Amazon MGM Studios for worldwide distribution and will premiere globally on Prime Video. It marks Bhat’s first English-language feature following the international attention received by Kill.
Deadlocked revolves around a grieving former Marine who is called for jury duty. His life takes a violent turn when a widely followed trial becomes the site of a deadly hostage situation. The defendant’s daughter takes control of the courthouse in an attempt to secure her father’s freedom, forcing the former Marine to return to action.
Foxx was recently seen alongside Cameron Diaz in the Netflix action comedy Back in Action. The film recorded 46.8 million views during its opening weekend. He is also set to return to the streaming platform with Fight for ’84, an Olympic boxing drama inspired by a true story.
Featuring Lakshya and Raghav Juyal, Kill was promoted as one of India’s most violent films. It went on to earn more than ₹47 crore and secured six Filmfare Awards, including the Best Debut honour for Lakshya.
Before Kill, Bhat directed projects including Apurva and Hurdang. His work also includes the web series Rasbhari and The Gone Game.
The filmmaker had also reportedly been associated with Parshuram, an action thriller starring Sunny Deol. However, following the announcement of Deadlocked, the current status of that project remains unclear.
With Deadlocked, Bhat now moves into international filmmaking while continuing to work within the action genre that brought him wider recognition.