Once upon a time, there was an action thriller called Shrapnel being developed. It had a script by Snow White And The Huntsman’s Evan Daugherty, one that had found itself on 2008’s Black List. Then it scored John McTiernan to direct and Nicolas Cage and John Travolta to star in what could have been a **Face/Off **reunion. Now, though, it’s called Killing Season, Cage is off and Robert De Niro is in his place.
And if you were disappointed that Cage and Travolta wouldn’t be sharing the screen again, but were comforting yourself with the intriguing notion of McTeigue calling the shots on an action thriller for the first time since 2003’s Basic, then we have even more disappointment headed your way. Yup, McTiernan is also no longer involved, and he’s been replaced by Mark Steven Johnson. Who last made When In Rome. You may commence uncertainty...
Still Daugherty’s script could be good for some thrills, with De Niro playing a US military veteran who has sought the quiet life in a cabin set among the picturesque Appalachian Mountains. A rare visitor (Travolta), claiming to be a European tourist shows up at his door, but naturally the man has a hidden agenda: he’s out for revenge, and soon the pair is battling across the forbidding terrain.
It’s being shopped at the American Film Market right now, and Johnson is looking to kick off shooting in January.