Keanu Reeves (John Wick, The Matrix) has signed on to star in Maelstrom, a high-concept action thriller from director Jaume Collet-Serra (Carry-On, Non-Stop) for Netflix. Reeves steps into the lead role following the exit of Reacher star Alan Ritchson.

The project traces a decades-long development history, originating in 1993 as a spec script by the late screenwriter Gregory Fitzpatrick that was acquired by Warner Bros. under then-agent Jeff Robinov. Long pitched as “Die Hard in a hurricane,” the narrative centers on a weathered Federal Marshal tasked with protecting the fiancée of a notorious international arms dealer who is entering witness protection ahead of her grand jury testimony. Over the course of a single night, a catastrophic hurricane cuts off communications and blocks all reinforcements, forcing the Marshal and the key witness to fend off waves of heavily armed mercenaries while surviving the elements raging outside.

Screenwriter Mark Bianculli (The Good Neighbor, How to Rob a Bank) is executing script revisions based on Fitzpatrick’s original draft.

Maelstrom serves as the inaugural feature under Robinov’s newly inked overall producing pact with Netflix. Robinov, the former President of Warner Bros. Pictures, previously oversaw multi-billion-dollar studio franchises including Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, The Hangover, and Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity.

The packaging adds another prominent action vehicle to Reeves’ slate. Following his recent Broadway turn opposite Alex Winter in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, Reeves is in active negotiations to lead James Wan’s upcoming action thriller The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil for Paramount Pictures, and will reprise his voice role as Shadow in Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 4 in 2027.