Spec action script Olympus Has Fallen is generating plenty of heat at the moment. A few days ago, Millennium Films grabbed up the rights to Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt’s work, launching the hunt for a potential star. Call off the hounds! Gerard Butler is now signed on to take the lead.
Olympus sounds like it could be right up Butler’s alley (at least his action side, which often yields more rewarding results than his dabbles in romantic comedy) and also a fun throwback to the days of Die Hard and Air Force One.
He’ll play a down-on-his-luck former Service Agent who – naturally – is the president and America’s only hope when the White House is invaded and taken over by terrorists. We’re hoping the script is chock full of puns for Butler to deliver after he’s taken out a bad guy. US Federal law mandates at least two per screenplay, we believe.
The next step will be to find a director who can stage the fight scenes and is free to shoot the thing in September.
Butler, who last starred in Machine Gun Preacher, has surfing drama Of Men And Mavericks, soccer coach comedy Playing The Field and Movie 43 all awaiting release. He’s next set to shoot heist thriller Brilliant.