Austin Butler Moves From Elvis To Crime Boss Danny Ryan In Sony 3000 Adaptation Of Don Winslow Novel ‘City On Fire’
03.04.2023 - 16:05
/ deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: In his first star role set since his Oscar nominated turn as Elvis Presley, Austin Butler will star in City On Fire, the Sony 3000 Pictures adaptation of the Don Winslow novel. This will be Butler’s first film as producer, alongside David Heyman and Shane Salerno. Studio has made this a high priority, and will be meeting with writers and filmmakers immediately.
Deal brings Butler back with Sony Pictures, where he had his first breakout turn in the Quentin Tarantino-directed Once Upon A Time…In America. City on Fire is the first title in a novel trilogy, so the hope is for Butler to have his first turn on the ground floor of a film franchise, after starring in the Baz Luhrmann-directed Elvis.
The HarperCollins/Morrow novel takes elements of The Iliad, Odyssey, Aeneid and Greek tragic dramas and places them in a world of contemporary crime. The first installment was published last April, and the second book in the trilogy, City of Dreams, is being published on April 18.
The trilogy focuses on two criminal empires — one Irish, the other Italian — that control all of New England. A modern-day Helen of Troy event tears them apart and starts a brutal war. Butler will play the main character, Danny Ryan, forced to grow from a street soldier into a ruthless leader to protect his friends, his family and the home he loves. Fighting the Mafia, the local cops, the feds, Danny intends to build a dynasty or die trying. 3000 Pictures exec Drew Reed was instrumental in tracking the series, and Elizabeth Gabler and Marisa Paiva are overseeing for the studio.
Said 3000 head Gabler: “We are elated that venerable producer David Heyman, alongside Austin Butler, will join forces with Shane Salerno to make Don Winslow’s