Actor Jason Momoa will star in the upcoming Netflix film Sweet Girl. With Brian Andrew Mendoza set to direct, the revenge thriller will follow a man’s quest for justice after his wife’s untimely death. Mendoza and Momoa previously collaborated for the 2018 action thriller Braven and the Netflix series Frontier.
Early in his career, Momoa appeared in the Baywatch franchise, and later starred in both North Shore and Stargate Atlantis. He landed a breakthrough role via HBO’s Game of Thrones, portraying the Dothraki warrior Khal Drogo. In the past decade, Momoa headlined action films like Conan the Barbarian and Road to Paloma, and recently evolved into an international superstar upon starring in Aquaman, the highest-grossing DCEU film ever produced. In 2019, Momoa reprised his Aquaman character for a voice role in The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, and will appear as Duncan Idaho in Denis Villeneuve’s 2020 big screen adaptation Dune.
Per The Wrap, Momoa has been cast in Netflix’s Sweet Girl. The film will mark Mendoza’s directorial debut, this coming after he served as the cinematographer for Brazen and executive producer for Frontier. Sweet Girl’s script was reportedly written by Gregg Hurwitz (The Book of Henry) and Philip Eisner (Event Horizon). ASAP Entertainment will produce in collaboration with Momoa and Mendoza. In an official statement, Momoa noted, “I’m putting a dream team together from Brad and Jeff to my best friend, Brian who has been my partner for over ten years. It’s a dream come true to collaborate with him and deliver his vision.” In the past, Momoa co-produced the aforementioned features Road to Paloma and Braven.
Whereas Aquaman’s box office success has been well-documented, Netflix is famously private about their viewership numbers. In 2019, the streaming service has released numerous dramas, but not many thrillers. Both Polar and Velvet Buzzsaw failed to create significant buzz for Netflix, however Triple Frontier made headlines for its all-star cast and throwback action film vibe. Most recently, Netflix has released the thrillers The Perfection and Secret Obsession, both of which are relatively small in scope. In August, Netflix will release the political thriller In the Shadow of the Moon.
After a tame 2019, at least in terms of the thriller genre, Netflix’s Sweet Girl should have a larger production budget. After all, Momoa can now pick and choose his passion projects, rather than accepting roles for a paycheck and more visibility. And given that Momoa will reunite with Mendoza, fans can expect Sweet Girl to not only be a potent genre film, but one that will also look spectacular, evidenced by Braven’s cinematography. Sweet Girl will likely be a pleasant surprise for Netflix subscribers upon its release.
Source: The Wrap