Daisy Ridley’s The Good Samaritan Just Landed Josh Duhamel and Sharlto Copley

Daisy Ridley is suiting up for another full-tilt action run in The Good Samaritan, an adrenaline-forward thriller from Taken director Pierre Morel. And because every story like this needs a human storm cloud and a wild card, the film just added two: Josh Duhamel and Sharlto Copley. The timing is not subtle either — the package is being shopped to buyers at the European Film Market in Berlin.

Who is playing who

• Daisy Ridley as Dr. Rosalind Carver, a successful entrepreneur suddenly out of her depth on dangerous waters
• Josh Duhamel as Sean Fuller, a battle-hardened ex-mercenary and private military contractor who might be the titular Good Samaritan
• Sharlto Copley as Langbore, a seafaring crime boss running a ruthless crew of pirates
• Matt, Rosalind's husband, whose kidnapping lights the fuse (casting not announced)

The hook

Here is the setup: while sailing off the coast of Indonesia, Rosalind and her husband pull a wounded man from the water. Moments later, that good deed detonates a conspiracy. Their yacht disappears. Matt is snatched by a global trafficking outfit. Pirates swarm. Corrupt officials make things worse. And Rosalind is forced to team with Sean, a man who looks handy in a firefight and even handier at keeping his motives to himself.

'Within hours, their yacht vanishes, Matt is abducted, and paradise turns into a trap.'

Sean and Rosalind set their sights on Langbore, the pirate kingpin pulling strings from the waterline. Expect a chase through a maze of double-crosses, shifting loyalties, and a whole lot of salt spray.

'Rosalind's only hope lies in Sean Fuller, a private military contractor whose motives are as mysterious as his past.'

Why this matters

Ridley leaning into action while Morel calls the shots is a clean, high-concept play. Duhamel (Transformers) brings square-jawed ambiguity for the maybe-hero role, and Copley (District 9) doing maritime menace is exactly the kind of left-field casting that perks up a package — especially one courting buyers right now in Berlin.

More to come as the deal-making dust settles.