Dev Patel’s Monkey Man established a new shift in his career as both a director and an action star. I found the film to be a mess, but an enjoyable one. It impressed a lot of people, though, and Patel is returning for another revenge thriller, The Peasant, that he will again direct, write, and take the lead role in.
THR has the news on The Peasant, an unconventional high-octane action thriller set “in the 1300s, it centers on a shepherd who embarks on a rage-fueled campaign against a group of mercenary knights who ransacked his community, revealing himself to be more than he seems.”
In what sounds like complete nuttiness, The Peasant is also “being described as having shades of Braveheart and John Wick as well as notes of King Arthur as it mashes up Medieval knights with feudal India.”
If the film is a success, producers aim to launch a franchise. No surprise there.
Interestingly, the film has undergone a complete shift under Patel’s guidance. It had previously drawn attention for its Black List screenplay by Will Dunn, a staff writer on Marvel’s Ms. Marvel series. Patel took over and moved the story away from the original Italian setting and papal connection, and instead to a reimagined India.
