Renny Harlin to Direct Prison Rescue Thriller Evac
Renny Harlin will direct Evac, a prison-set rescue thriller built around a helicopter crash.
The attachment was reported by Deadline on 15 October 2026. Attached is industry shorthand for a director signed on to lead a film before shooting starts. It puts Harlin, known for large-scale action, at the centre of a tight survival story.
Evac centres on a medical helicopter that crash-lands in a volatile prison yard, according to Deadline. The story follows a medical specialist, a doctor trained for emergency response, who teams up with the wounded inmate she was sent to rescue. The two must survive the night and fight their way out. A prison conspiracy unfolding around them drives the escape.
The script is by Sidney King, whose credits include Skyfire. Michael Roccio and Robert Dean are producing for uStudios, while Dawn Bursteen and Alan B. Bursteen are producing for Milestone Studios, as reported by Deadline. Producers oversee a film from development to delivery, from budget to hiring. Here the duties are split between the two banners.
Casting discussions were underway when the project was announced. That means conversations with actors had started but no signings had been disclosed. Filming is aimed at 2027. No start date, location, cast or release calendar has yet been made public. If that timetable holds, casting would need to lock first, followed by crew, location and a shooting schedule.
Harlin's past work explains the fit. His directing credits include Cliffhanger and Die Hard 2, two early-1990s action pictures built on stunts and confined danger. More recent credits include The Beast starring Samuel L. Jackson, plus the shark thriller Deep Water starring Aaron Eckhart and Ben Kingsley. He also directed Lionsgate's horror trilogy The Strangers, according to Deadline.
What makes this stand out on paper is the compression. One location. One night. Two people forced together. That kind of setup lives or dies on pacing and physical staging, familiar ground for Harlin.
Harlin is repped by M3 Global Strategy, meaning the firm handles his deals and negotiations. Further details on cast and distribution are still to come. Distribution is the business of selling a finished film to cinemas and platforms around the world.
