Gemini Man (film)

Gemini Man is an upcoming 2019 American science fiction action thriller film directed by Ang Lee and written by David Benioff, Billy Ray, and Darren Lemke. The film stars Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen, and Benedict Wong, and follows an aging hitman who is targeted by a younger clone of himself.

Originally conceived in 1997, the film went through development hell for nearly 20 years. Several directors, including Tony Scott, Curtis Hanson and Joe Carnahan, were all attached at some point and numerous actors, including Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Clint Eastwood, and Sean Connery, were set to star. In 2016, Skydance Media purchased the rights to the screenplay (which had been through several rewrites) from Walt Disney Pictures, and in October 2017 Ang Lee signed on to direct. Filming took place from February through May 2018.

Gemini Man is scheduled to be released in the United States on October 11, 2019 by Paramount Pictures.

Premise
Henry Brogen, an aging assassin seeking to exit his career, finds himself going against a younger clone of himself who can predict his every move.

Cast

 * Will Smith as Henry Brogen, an aging government assassin.
 * Smith also portrays Junior, Henry’s assassin clone, via de-aging.
 * Clive Owen as Clay Varris, Henry’s ruthless former boss who creates Junior in order to "retire" Henry.
 * Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Danny
 * Benedict Wong as Baron
 * Linda Emond as Lassiter
 * Theodora Miranne as Kitty

Production
Gemini Man, based on a concept by Darren Lemke, was originally sold to be produced by Walt Disney Pictures along with Don Murphy to produce and Tony Scott to direct in 1997. Scott, Curtis Hanson, and Joe Carnahan had previously been attached to direct the film. At the time, Disney's now-defunct animation/visual effects department The Secret Lab developed a test short, known as Human Face Project, to create visual effects for the film, which would involve creating a younger CG clone of the main actor. Harrison Ford, Chris O'Donnell, Mel Gibson, Jon Voight, Nicolas Cage, Clint Eastwood, and Sean Connery were all attached to the lead role. The film never progressed at Disney, though, as the technology wasn't developed enough in order for the film to be produced.

Lemke's screenplay has since been rewritten by Billy Ray, Andrew Niccol, David Benioff, Brian Helgeland, Jonathan Hensleigh, and the writing team of Stephen J. Rivele & Christopher Wilkinson.

In 2016, Skydance Media acquired the film from Disney, with Jerry Bruckheimer, Skydance's David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger as producers and Murphy, Mike Stenson, Chad Oman and Michael Fottrell as executive producers. Ang Lee was hired to direct the film for Paramount Pictures and Skydance in April 2017.

The film is set to star Will Smith in the lead role with a release date set for October 11, 2019. In January 2018, Clive Owen and Mary Elizabeth Winstead were cast in the film, with Winstead winning the role over Tatiana Maslany. Later, in February 2018, Benedict Wong joined the cast as filming began.

Principal production commenced on February 27, 2018 in Glennville, Georgia and includes locations in the city of Cartagena, Colombia. Filming continued in May 2018 at Széchenyi Thermal Bath in Budapest, Hungary. Like director Lee's previous film Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, the film was shot digitally at an extra-high frame rate of 120 fps, modified for 3D, this time, on modified ARRI Alexa cameras mounted on STEREOTEC 3D Rigs.

The visual effects are provided by Weta Digital and supervised by Bill Westenhofer.

Release
The film is scheduled to be released on October 11, 2019 by Paramount Pictures.