Taron Egerton Sinks His Teeth Into Netflix UK’s Werewolf Thriller ALPHA
Netflix UK has landed a new genre project titled Alpha after a heated bidding battle with eight contenders, and it is being lined up for Taron Egerton, who continues to build an solid streak of character driven work.
Coming off Rocketman and the Netflix thriller Carry On, Egerton looks ready to dive into something far more feral.
The streamer is keeping quiet for now, though insiders say the feature was acquired specifically with Egerton in mind. Alpha is written by Hal Ozsan, and the story taps into a mix of psychological chaos and creature horror that blends the slick corporate energy of American Psycho and Industry with the transformative nightmare of An American Werewolf in London.
The film follows a mild mannered American analyst rising through the ranks of a cutthroat London investment firm who soon realizes something terrifying is happening inside him. The horrors of finance are nothing compared to the monster waking up beneath his skin.
Producers on the project include Adam Goldworm of Aperture Entertainment along with Tory Tunnell and Joby Harold of Safehouse. The trio has a deep slate of genre and blockbuster work behind them.
Goldworm has multiple projects set up at Netflix including Hannibal starring Denzel Washington with Antoine Fuqua directing and Grady Hendrix’s The Blanks. He is also producing Ankle Snatcher at Sony and How to Sell a Haunted House at Legendary.
Safehouse Pictures continues to be involved with high profile productions across the industry. Their credits range from Novocaine and the A24 documentary Andre Is an Idiot to Netflix’s hit Atlas starring Jennifer Lopez, Sterling K. Brown and Simu Liu. They are now in post production on season two of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters for Apple TV.
Harold’s writing and producing credits span Obi-Wan Kenobi for Disney+, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, The Flash for Warner Bros DC and Netflix’s Army of the Dead for director Zack Snyder.
Ozsan brings his own eclectic and energetic voice to Alpha. Before screenwriting he fronted the rock band Poetry for Pornstars which opened for acts like Guns N Roses. His acting credits include Dawson’s Creek, 90210, The Blacklist and Jessica Jones. He is developing the rally racing series The Distance with 87North and Universal for David Leitch to direct.
As for Alpha, a psychological descent set against London’s high finance scene is interesting, and letting Egerton unleash his darker side could make this one seriously fun for horror fans.