Aaron Pierre is getting behind the wheel of a New York taxi for a Christmas Eve revenge spree. The Lanterns star will lead Fairytale in New York, an action thriller from Finnish director Jalmari Helander, the filmmaker who turned a grizzled gold prospector into a one-man army in Sisu.
According to the announced logline, the film follows an unassuming cab driver who goes on a relentless night of vengeance across the city after a priceless gift from his estranged son is stolen. Lionsgate is producing and Netflix will distribute, per reports published on Thursday, November 13.
The team behind it
Helander directs from a script by Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani, the same writing pair behind his upcoming Rambo prequel. Lionsgate Motion Group president Erin Westerman said in a statement that this is the studio’s “third collaboration with Jalmari,” and called Pierre an actor who “has all the makings of a major movie star.”
No release date, budget or supporting cast has been announced.
Helander keeps coming back to Christmas
The festive setting is a homecoming of sorts. Helander, born in Helsinki in 1976, broke through with Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010), a dark Finnish fable about a very unfriendly Santa. His career since then:
- 2010: Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale
- 2014: Big Game, with Samuel L. Jackson as a US president stranded in the Finnish wilderness
- 2022: Sisu, his World War II action hit
- 2025: Sisu: Road to Revenge
- 2027: John Rambo, a prequel to First Blood, with Noah Centineo in the title role, reportedly due June 4
Fairytale in New York would arrive 16 or more years after Rare Exports, bringing him back to holiday mayhem with a far bigger star and a far bigger city.
Pierre’s packed run
For Pierre, 32, the role adds to a crowded slate. The London-born actor plays John Stewart in HBO’s DC series Lanterns and is due to return as the character in Man of Tomorrow in 2027. He also has a part in Star Wars: Starfighter with Ryan Gosling, which is in post-production.
The casting also makes sense on paper. Pierre already proved himself in a Netflix action lead with Rebel Ridge (2024), which won him an NAACP Image Award and a Gotham TV Award. Before that he voiced the title role in Mufasa: The Lion King and played Malcolm X in Genius: MLK/X. This year he also took on Randle P. McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest at the Old Vic in London.
Fans worried about his DC future after recent chatter around Lanterns can catch up on co-showrunner Chris Cantwell telling fans the Green Lantern show is not canceled. More casting news is on Badiyaa’s Entertainment page.
Before any taxi chase, Helander’s next film in cinemas is John Rambo, with a reported release date of June 4, 2027.
Further reading
Image: Kevin Paul, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
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