Hostage thriller Rabbit Rabbit will be directed by Philip Barantini (Adolescence) and will star Adam Driver (Megalopolis). Having recently landed all sorts of awards for his sterling work on this year’s Adolescence, director Philip Barantini is set to make a quite different series for Netflix. Called Rabbit Rabbit, it’s a tense-sounding thriller about an escaped ... Rabbit Rabbit | Adam Driver to star in new series from director of Adolescence
Hostage thriller Rabbit Rabbit will be directed by Philip Barantini (Adolescence) and will star Adam Driver (Megalopolis).
Having recently landed all sorts of awards for his sterling work on this year’s Adolescence, director Philip Barantini is set to make a quite different series for Netflix. Called Rabbit Rabbit, it’s a tense-sounding thriller about an escaped convict holed up in a diner full of terrified customers, and an FBI negotiator’s efforts to defuse the situation.
The script is by Peter Craig, who previously co-wrote The Batman (with director Matt Reeves) and received a story-by credit on Top Gun: Maverick. There’s a bit of a coup in front of the camera, too: it’s been announced (via IndieWire) that Adam Driver is to have a major role in the series as well as receiving an executive producer credit. It’s currently unsaid which role Driver will play – though he’s versatile enough that we could imagine him as either the escaped criminal or the hostage negotiator. Perhaps both?
There’s an official logline as well if you’re into italicised paragraphs:
“When an escaped convict is cornered by law enforcement at a truck stop, he takes hostages in an effort to bargain for his freedom. But the standoff soon escalates into an unmanageable social experiment with his captives, as well as an emotional poker match with a veteran FBI Crisis Negotiator trained in ‘tactical empathy.’”
Between Netflix’s deep pockets (where it keeps its money) and all that filmmaking talent, Rabbit Rabbit sounds rather promising. We’ll be intrigued to see whether Barantini’s been brought in to again showcase his skill at orchestrating one-shot productions – both Boiling Point and Adolescence were filmed in unbroken takes. Certainly, the hostage premise could make for an intense real-time thriller.
Driver’s no stranger to TV, having made his name on Lena Dunham’s hit series Girls, and he’s delving into other small-screen stuff with The Dealer, an Apple show about the art world co-starring Jessica Chastain. In movies, he has writer-director James Gray’s Paper Tiger on the way, and apparently, an untitled comedy written and directed by Chris Rock.
The further-adventures-of-Ben-Solo movie Driver was going to star in may be dead, but the actor’s certainly keeping busy.
More on Rabbit Rabbit as it comes in.
