After finding success making his big screen directorial debut on The Girl With All The Gifts, Colm McCarthy is turning to a tough true-life story for his next film. James McAvoy is taking the lead in Escape.
Vanya Asher wrote the script on spec, based upon his family's experiences. They lived in Sarajevo until Yugoslavia was broken up by war, and McAvoy is playing Asher's father, a professor who stayed behind to continue teaching after the rest of his family is evacuated. But as the conflict escalated, he realised he'd have to fight his way out of the turmoil.
"Escape is the incredibly moving true story of Vanya’s father and how heroic it can be for a civilian to escape from conflict for the sake of his family," McCarthy tells Deadline. "The themes are so powerfully universal – how humour can keep people sane through hardship, how a father’s promise to his son can be the strongest drive of all. I could not be more excited than to have James McAvoy join our team."
There's no sign of when it'll start shooting yet, but we'd expect it to kick off this year. McAvoy will next be seen in Atomic Blonde, due out on 11 August, and has Submergence awaiting release. McCarthy also directed the pilot for new Superman prequel TV series Krypton, which has just scored a series order at the US SyFy Channel.