After kickstarting his Hollywood career in 2009 with Knowing, 21-year-old Liam Hemsworth (brother of Thor himself) has been flooded with movie deal, upon movie deal. Besides starring in the upcoming The Hunger Games adaptation and The Expendables sequel, Hemsworth is adding another credit to his ever growing filmography. According to Deadline, Hemsworth has just signed onto to star in the upcoming indie heist film Empire State.
The screenplay is written by the relatively unknown Adam Mazer — his only other writing credits include 2007’s Breach and the made for TV movie You Don’t Know Jack — with Fighting‘s Dito Montiel set to direct. The project, formerly titled The Sentry Keep, is based on the “true story of 1982 NYC armored car company robbery thought at the time to be the largest cash heist in U.S. history.” Hemsworth is set to play the lead character named Chris.
Former professional wrestler turned actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is also in negotiations to play a character by the name of Ransone. Montiel has worked with heartthrob Channing Tatum on his last three films, but could this mean he found another up-and-comer for a future pseudo-trilogy? We’ll have to wait and see. After the disappointment that was The Son of No One and Fighting, I’m surprised Montiel has got his next project going so fast, but filming is set to begin in April.
What are your thoughts on the new casting for Empire State?