Hayley Atwell Joins Gerard Butler in Edge-of-Your-Seat Hostage Thriller Empire City

Gerard Butler is loading up for another high-stress, save-everyone thriller, and this time he’s bringing Hayley Atwell with him. The two are teaming on an action movie called 'Empire City' that sounds like a big, muscular throwback in the best way.

So what is 'Empire City'?

Deadline says Butler leads as Rhett, a New York City firefighter, while Atwell plays his wife Dani, an NYPD cop. When a hostage situation erupts inside the city’s landmark Clybourn Building, Rhett, his squad, and Dani have to fight and weave their way through the place to get people out alive. Yes, the premise is giving classic tower-siege energy, but with a married first-responder duo sharing the hero duties. Could be a fun twist on a well-worn setup if they lean into the teamwork.

Who’s making it

Michael Matthews, who did Love & Monsters, is directing from a script by Brian Tucker and S. Craig Zahler. If Zahler’s name rings a bell, he’s the writer-director behind some very punchy, brutal genre pieces, so expect some bite. Deadline also notes the story has been adjusted since the first time they reported on it, which suggests this one’s been tinkered with on the way to the starting line.

Why Butler and Atwell make sense here

Butler is basically a human pressure cooker at this point, and he’s reliable in crisis-mode thrillers. Atwell has been Agent Carter in the MCU and then leveled up her stunt game with Tom Cruise on the most recent Mission: Impossible installments, so pairing her with Butler in a confined, action-heavy scenario feels right.

'When I started, I was very aware of the rarefied air around him and how there is no one like him. And there never will be because actors aren’t made like him any more. He is a one-man studio and, to me, very kind, very professional.'

That’s Atwell on Cruise, and she’s said that environment pushed her to try everything without feeling like she’d fail or be unsafe. In her words, Cruise wants people to thrive on set. Translation: she’s more than ready to hold her own opposite Butler.

Meanwhile, Butler is back to the end of the world soon

Before 'Empire City' lands, Butler returns to globe-in-flames territory with 'Greenland 2: Migration' early next year. The sequel picks up after a comet strike wrecked most of Earth. The Garrity family has to leave the safety of their bunker in Greenland and trek across a shattered world to find a new home.

• Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin are back as John and Allison Garrity
• Roman Griffin Davis takes over the role of Nathan Garrity from Roger Dale Floyd
• Also in the cast: Amber Rose Revah, Sophie Thompson, Trond Fausa Aurvag, and William Abadie

Bottom line

'Empire City' is shaping up like a stripped-down, high-stakes building siege with two capable leads who can sell both the emotion and the elbow-throwing. With Matthews behind the camera and a script touched by Zahler, expect something tense, a little gnarly, and hopefully smarter than your average rescue run.