Tom Hardy is set to play an American WWII veteran who joins a Yakuza crime family in The Outsider, an action-thriller to be directed by Takashi Miike.
Studiocanal has closed a deal for Australasian rights and plans to release the film in 2015, probably after the May 15 launch of George Miller’s Mad Max 4: Fury Road, which stars Hardy as Max Rockatansky alongside Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Zoe Kravitz, Riley Keough and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.
Hardy will also be seen as Elton John in Rocketman. the Michael Gracey-directed biographical musical film scripted by Billy Elliot‘s Lee Hall.
Studiocanal CEO Robert Slaviero bought The Outsider, encouraged by the casting of Hardy, the screenplay by Andrew Baldwin and the pedigree of the Japanese director whose credits include 13 Assassins and the Dead or Alive trilogy.
The deal with QED Entertainment closed after the American Film Market, the only title Slaviero picked up in what was generally described as a quiet market.
Studiocanal has a full release slate for 2014, with 17 titles confirmed, so Slaviero is now looking to add selectively to his 2015 line-up.