By Matt Donnelly
Benicio Del Toro has joined the feature film “Reptile” as star and executive producer, Variety has learned exclusively.
The Black Label Media project will also mark the feature directorial debut of Grant Singer, the prolific music video director whose collaborators include The Weeknd and Taylor Swift.
Del Toro will play Nichols, a hardened New England detective unflinching in his pursuit of a case where nothing is as it seems, one that begins to dismantle the illusions in his own life.
Singer wrote the script with Benjamin Brewer. Black Label will produce and finance, led by Molly Smith, Trent Luckinbill and Thad Luckinbill. Seth Spector will co-produce.
“We are thrilled to be collaborating with one of the most talented emerging filmmakers, Grant Singer on his original script alongside the brilliant Benicio Del Toro,” the Black Label team said in joint statement. “Grant is a bold storyteller who has crafted a sophisticated, visceral psychological thriller and we’re ecstatic for the opportunity to make something truly haunting and suspenseful that will resonate with the audience long after the film ends.”
Production is eyeing a spring 2021 start with a release date to be determined. Benicio is repped by LBI, Range Media Partners and Hansen Jacobson.Singer is repped by CAA, Anonymous Content and Steve Burkow at Ziffren Brittenham.
Black Label Media was formed in 2013 by partners Smith and the Luckinbills to finance and produce bold films with commercial appeal. Their credits include three-time Academy Award-nominated “Sicario” (directed by Denis Villeneuve, starring Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, and Josh Brolin), “Sicario 2: Day of the Soldado” (directed by Stefano Sollima), “12 Strong” (directed by Nicolai Fuglsig, starring Chris Hemsworth, Michael Shannon and Michael Peña), and “Sierra Burgess is a Loser” (directed by Ian Samuels, starring Shannon Purser and Noah Centineo).
Black Label also co-financed and executive produced the Academy Award-winning “La La Land” with Lionsgate. Their upcoming slate includes Peter Sattler’s “Broken Diamonds” starring Ben Platt and Lola Kirke, and Derek Kolstad’s “Time Agent.”
Black Label will also begin production February 2021 on JD Dillard’s “Devotion” with Glen Powell and Jonathan Majors.
Source: VARIETY
