Lukas Gage and Alex Akpobome join Natalie Portman and Jonathan Bailey in cycling thriller 'Pumping Black'
Lukas Gage and Alex Akpobome have joined the cast of Pumping Black, a psychological thriller set in the world of professional cycling, starring Jonathan Bailey and Natalie Portman, according to Deadline.
The film follows Taylor Mace, a 35-year-old cyclist ageing out of the sport, who falls under the influence of Andrea Lathe — a doctor driven by her own thirst for victory and power. As the race toward the Tour de France intensifies, Taylor takes increasingly dark measures to protect a secret. Portman plays Lathe; Bailey plays Mace. The project has been described as being in the vein of Whiplash and Black Swan, two films known for their spiralling, obsessive characters.
Mimi Cave, whose feature debut was 2022's Fresh, will direct from a screenplay by Haley Hope Bartels. The producer roster is stacked: Stacey Sher at Shiny Penny, Cave herself, Sébastien Raybaud at Anton, and Portman with Sophie Mas through their MountainA banner. Production is being lined up for the autumn.
Amazon acquired the project at the Cannes film market in May 2026 — the first major deal of that market, as Variety reported at the time. Anton, the production and financing company behind the film, is handling international sales at the market.
Gage broke through in the first season of The White Lotus and has been busy since. His recent credits include Rosebush Pruning with Elle Fanning and Callum Turner, Netflix's Voicemails for Isabelle, and The People We Meet on Vacation. Before that, he appeared in Companion opposite Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid, Paramount's Smile 2, and Road House with Jake Gyllenhaal and Conor McGregor. He is next set to lead Hulu's Prison Break, created by Elgin James, alongside Emily Browning and Drake Rodger.
Akpobome is currently on screens opposite Kaley Cuoco in Peacock's Based on a True Story. His other television credits include Lena Waithe's Twenties and a recurring role on Apple's For All Mankind.
For a cycling thriller, the creative choices point in an interesting direction. Cave's Fresh built tension from a charismatic performance and a steadily tightening screw; Bartels' screenplay, by its logline, sets up a similar pressure-cooker dynamic between a fading athlete and a manipulative doctor. The Whiplash and Black Swan comparisons signal psychological intensity rather than sports-movie uplift.
The combination of Portman — an Oscar winner with a history of psychologically complex roles — and Bailey, whose profile has surged in recent years, gives the project clear marquee weight. Adding Gage, whose energy tends toward the unpredictable, and Akpobome, a steady presence across streaming television, rounds out a cast designed to serve that tone.
Gage is represented by WME, Luber Roklin Entertainment, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher. Akpobome is represented by Gersh and Range Media Partners.
