Interceptor: Release Date, Casts, Plot and Elsa Pataky

Elsa Pataky, Luke Bracey to Star in Matthew Reilly's 'Interceptor' for Netflix. Photo: What's on Netflix?

Netflix’s Interceptor will be directed by Matthew, who is an acclaimed Australian action/thriller writer known for bestselling books including Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves, Seven Ancient Wonders and The Tournament. Interceptor will be the directorial debut for Reilly. The script for Interceptor was written by Reilly along with BAFTA nominee Stuart Beattie (Collateral, Tomorrow, When the War Began).

Beattie is producing the project with Matthew Street and Michael Boughen for Ambience Entertainment. Chris Hemsworth, Kathy Morgan, Christopher Mapp, Robert Slaviero, and Peter D. Graves will serve as executive producers.

Interceptor: Plot

Not a whole lot of the plot is known for Netflix’s Interceptor, but we do have an official logline from Netflix:

When sixteen nuclear missiles are launched at the US, and a violent coordinated attack simultaneously threatens her remote missile interceptor station, one Army lieutenant must utilize her years of tactical training and military expertise to save humanity as we know it.

But better than a logline are the comments of the writer and director himself, Matthew Reilly:

“As those people who have read my novels know, I love telling big action stories that are told at a frenetic pace. I wanted to bring that kind of rocket-fast, relentless, high-stakes storytelling to film, and so Interceptor was born. Elsa is just perfect as our lead: a strong, independent and determined woman who, in the face of overwhelming odds, just refuses to give up.”

Interceptor: Casts

Photo: What's on Netflix?

Netflix’s Interceptor will be led by Spanish actress and model Elsa Pataky, who is best known for her role as Elena in the Fast & Furious franchise. In Interceptor, Pataky will play JJ Collins, an army lieutenant who must utilize her years of tactical training and military expertise to save humanity as we know it.

Interceptor‘s second lead will be Luke Bracey, who has appeared in such projects as Hacksaw Ridge, G.I. Joe, Holidate and the upcoming Elvis Presley biopic. Other cast members of Interceptor include Aaron Glenane (Snowpiercer), Belinda Jombwe (Colour Blind), Paul Caesar (Home and Away) and Marcus Johnson (The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee).c

Interceptor: Production Status

Photo: What's on Netflix?

Netflix’s Interceptor entered production on March 29 2021 in Sydney and New South Wales, Australia. Minister for the Arts of New South Wales, Don Harwin shared his excitement for the opportunity of New South Wales to provide manpower for the film and create more jobs:

“Securing Netflix’s Interceptor is further proof that NSW’s screen industry is taking off, boosting our economy and creating jobs as international productions seek out the winning combination of highly skilled cast and crew, technical ability, competitiveness and creativity. As we put the world on notice that NSW is a global leader in film, it’s fitting that this action-blockbuster will once again showcase NSW’s production, CGI and VFX prowess.”

Lead actress Elsa Pataky trained hard with producer and her husband Chris Hemsworth and later reported on starting the first week of filming. Currently, there is no word on when will production wrap.

Interceptor: Release date

Netflix’s Interceptor has no official release date yet, but considering the March 2021 production start, it should normally be released by mid-2022.

Why bestselling author Matthew Reilly is making a film?

The announcement is made sweeter by the fact that Reilly has sold film rights for several books over the years, including Ice Station and Hover Car Racer, but for various reasons, the projects never got off the ground, reported by South Morning Herald.

“I’ve sold books of mine all over,” Reilly says. “I’ve sold books to Paramount, Sony, Fox, Disney. You kiss a lot of frogs in Hollywood.”

But the author, who owns a life-sized replica of Han Solo frozen in carbonite and a DeLorean DMC-12 – the car made famous from the Back to the Future franchise – has never been one to give up. He famously self-published his first book, Contest, in 1996 after it was rejected from all the major publishers. He was just 22 years old.

One day a commissioning editor for Pan Macmillan Australia wandered into Angus & Robertson’s Pitt Street Mall store and bought a copy of Contest. It was the big-budget-looking cover that caught her eye. The rest is history. Highly decorated history, in fact: Reilly’s books have been published in more than 20 languages and sold more than 7 million copies worldwide.

Director and writer Matthew Reilly. Photo: What's on Netflix?

His novels are adrenaline-fuelled page-turners filled with explosions, high-powered weapons, and – at times – mutated animals with a hunger for human flesh. His titles dominated the bestselling Australian fiction lists throughout the 2000s. Recent titles have been no different.

“I could have said they were right [about Contest] and not do anything more,” Reilly says. “But I honestly thought it had the goods. If I have one talent in my life it is perseverance. That’s it. I’m not going to say I’m the best writer who has ever touched a keyboard because I’m not.”

Reilly has also endured great personal tragedy. In 2011, his wife Natalie died while he was on a book tour. In the months that followed he thought he would never write again (his most recent novel, The Two Lost Mountains, was released in October last year).

“I view myself as anybody who’s suffered the loss of a spouse or loved one,” Reilly says. “You have to grieve. It travels with you but you still have to keep living with yourself.”

More about Interceptor

Writer Matthew Reilly recently spoke about the upcoming film in an interview with the above media outlet, talking about how he loves telling "big action stories that are told at a frenetic pace". He also talked about how Interceptor was born because he wanted to bring "that kind of rocket-fast, relentless, high-stakes storytelling to film". Reilly also expressed his thoughts on the choice for the female lead saying, "Elsa is just perfect as our lead: a strong, independent and determined woman who, in the face of overwhelming odds, just refuses to give up". The film will be shot in and around New South Wales, Australia. Beattie is producing the project with Matthew Street and Michael Boughen for Ambience Entertainment.