Dev Patel to direct another India-based revenge thriller

After making his directorial debut last year with the electrifying Monkey Man, actor-filmmaker Dev Patel has got his eye on another revenge thriller, also set in India, titled The Peasant.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, the film is described as an "adrenalized revenge thriller" featuring medieval knights in feudal India, with sensibilities similar to that of films like Braveheart, King Arthur, and John Wick. "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," reports THR.

The Peasant is reportedly based on an unproduced screenplay, which originally featured an Italian shepherd as the protagonist, but Patel is modifying the material to place in Medieval India. Patel's character will take on mercenary knights who raided his community. As Patel has already proved himself to be a gifted filmmaker with a knack for expertly staging action sequences, the project naturally goes to the top of the most anticipated films list.

Will Dunn, known for the Ms. Marvel TV series, is working with Patel on the new drafts of the screenplay. The Medieval setting recalls another Dev Patel-starrer, The Green Knight, directed by David Lowery, in which the actor played the character Sir Gawain.

The Peasant will also see Patel reuniting with the production company Thunder Road Pictures, which also produced Monkey Man, and is generally known for putting their name behind other popular action thrillers such as the John Wick films and the Sicario films.

It remains to be seen if The Peasant will see Patel tackling sensitive themes as he did in Monkey Man. The 2024 film, which also stars Sikandar Kher and Sobhita Dhulipala, has not been released on Indian screens after the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) reportedly found references to the religion-political nexus "problematic" and demanded edits.

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