Jason Momoa, Tenoch Huerta, Adria Arjona and Kiefer Sutherland Just Joined Miles Teller’s New Undercover Thriller ‘Copperhead’

Miles Teller has quietly become one of Hollywood’s more reliable leading men for gritty, morally complicated dramas, and his latest project is shaping up to be one of his most star-studded yet. The thriller, currently titled ‘Copperhead’, has spent the past few months building out its production pieces ahead of a fall shoot.

‘Copperhead‘ first came together back in June, when Teller signed on to lead the film for Black Label Media under director John Swab, the filmmaker behind the Venice-premiering ‘King Ivory’. Swab is working from a script by Chad Feehan and J. Todd Scott, with production set to begin in September and Black Label Media producing alongside Teller’s own Lime Tree Productions and Swab’s Milk Boy.

That lineup just got significantly bigger. Black Label Media has added four major names to round out the cast: Jason Momoa, Tenoch Huerta, Adria Arjona and Kiefer Sutherland are all joining Teller, though character details for each actor are being kept under wraps for now. The casting news arrives just ahead of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, where Black Bear is set to launch international sales on the project.

The film’s premise centers on an undercover drug deal that explodes into violence, forcing a veteran detective to team up with a young federal agent to unravel a conspiracy embedded within their own elite task force. That setup gives the ensemble plenty of room to play morally murky characters navigating institutional corruption, a genre space Swab has shown a clear affinity for in his previous work.

Each of the film’s new additions arrives with a packed slate of upcoming work. Momoa is coming off his run as bounty hunter Lobo in ‘Supergirl’ and recently starred opposite Dave Bautista in Amazon MGM’s ‘The Wrecking Crew’, which ranked as the fourth most-viewed film across all streaming platforms between December and June according to Nielsen data. He’s also set to appear in ‘Street Fighter’, ‘Dune: Part Three’, ‘A Minecraft Movie: Squared’ and ‘Fast Forever’ in the months ahead.

Huerta, known for playing Namor in ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’, is set to reprise that role in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ and will also star opposite Taylor Kitsch in the upcoming hostage thriller ‘Eleven Days’. Arjona, fresh off ‘Andor’ and the acclaimed Neon comedy ‘Splitsville’, has A24’s ‘Onslaught’ arriving September 4, giving her yet another high-profile project on the way alongside ‘Copperhead’.

Black Label Media brings a strong track record to the project as well, with credits that include Lynne Ramsay’s Cannes drama ‘Die My Love’, ‘Sicario’, ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody’ and ‘Only the Brave’. The company is also currently working with director J.D. Dillard on ‘The Strange’, a follow-up to his Korean War drama ‘Devotion’, with casting underway.

With production kicking off next month and sales already being courted at TIFF, ‘Copperhead’ is shaping up to be one of the more closely watched genre packages heading into the fall festival circuit.

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