Milla Jovovich and Pierce Brosnan star in ‘Survivor’

Australian director James McTeigue (V is for Vendetta, The Raven) has cast an impressive ensemble for his espionage thriller Survivor. Milla Jovovich(Resident Evil), Pierce Brosnan (Goldeneye, Mama Mia), Angela Bassett (Olympus Has Fallen, Waiting To Exhale), Emma Thompson (Nanny McPhee, Saving Mr. Banks), and Dylan McDermott(American Horror Story, The Perks Of Being A Wallflower) will all star.

The script, written by Phil Shelby, had long had Katherine Heigl (Knocked Up) and Clive Owen(Killer Elite) attached. No word on why things changed, but with filming set to start in London January 20, 2014 the final cast is in place.

Survivor is the story of a a State Department employee (Jovovich) who gets a new job, based in London, protecting the U.S. from terrorists trying to enter the country. She innocently becomes involved in a conspiracy that finds her on the wrong side of the law. Targeted for death and false crimes,  she goes on the run to clear her name, all the while engaged in thwarting an all-out attack on the U.S. in Times Square on New Years Eve. McDermott will play her boss and love interest.

The synopsis would seem to share characteristics with Angelina Jolie’s 2010 spy-on-the-run thriller Salt, for which a sequel is currently in development. The two pictures could end up going head to head if all the cards fall right, with Jovovich’s committed Resident Evil franchise audience going up against Jolie’s more mainstream appeal. Salt and the most recent Resident Evil entry (Resident Evil: Retribution) scored nearly identical numbers in the worldwide box office.

Angela Bassett and Emma Thompson star in ‘Survivor’

Charles and Irwin Winkler are producing with Millennium Films.

James McTeigue has a full plate, he is also set to do a remake of the Jean Claude Van Damme martial arts film Bloodsport.

Survivor is scheduled for a 2015 release.