Al Pacino, Kiefer Sutherland team up with Luc Besson for new action thriller—here’s all you need to know
It seems like Luc Besson has finally found the star cast for his upcoming action thriller 'Father Joe'. According to a report by Variety, Emmy-winning actor Kiefer Sutherland will be starring alongside legendary icon Al Pacino and 'Black Widow' actress Ever Anderson in Besson's forthcoming film. Filming for 'Father Joe', which is set in the 1990s, will kickstart in mid-October with Barthélémy Grossmann directing. The film will be produced by LB Production and EuropaCorp, who are behind Besson's hit thrillers, including 'Taken,' 'Lucy,' and 'Leon: The Professional.'
For this new project, Sutherland, well-known for his work on shows like '24' and 'Designated Survivor', will also be serving as one of the producers. In Besson's film, Sutherland will be playing the role of a man of faith who wages a violent war against the criminal underworld of the city. On the other hand, Pacino will be seen essaying the role of a powerful mob boss whose realm clashes with Father Joe’s crusade. Meanwhile, Anderson will be portraying the role of a young woman caught between two conflicting worlds under Joe’s guidance.
During his latest interview with Variety, Sutherland gushed over Besson's works and said, “I have been a fan of Luc Besson going back to ‘Subway’. As a director and a writer, he has a unique capacity to weave drama and action together without sacrificing either. I’m so excited about this opportunity to work with him as the writer of ‘Father Joe’ and director Barthélémy Grossmann. I can’t wait to get started."
Earlier this year, in April, Besson released his French gothic romance 'Dracula: a Love Story', which starred Caleb Landry Jones and Christoph Waltz in pivotal roles. The film has performed well at the box office in different international markets, including in Latin America and Russia, where it emerged as the country's third biggest international hit since 2022. Besson's horror film will also be screened under the non-competitive section 'Grand public' at the 20th Rome Film Festival in October 2025, and it will be released in theaters in the United States and Canada on February 6, 2026.