MAELSTROM: Windswept Keanu reaches out to replace Ritchson…

Though it was originally presumed to be a vehicle for Reacher star Alan Ritchson, it appears that another notable name will be playing the lead in upcoming thriller Maelstrom.

Keanu Reeves will now headline the new Netflix action flick (from Carry-On‘s Jaume Collet-Serra). The plot and spec script originally date back to the early 1990s, originally written by Gregory Fitzpatrick withe the most recent version by  Mark Bianculli and concern a Federal Marshal who is assigned to protect the fiancée of an arms dealer who has turned witness to his misdeeds. However, as is inevitable in these circumstances, things do not go according to plan and the marshal finds himself defending her from hired killers during a brutal weather event that (of course) cuts off communication from the outside world and strands them without reinforcements.

It isn’t known why Ritchson has exited the project, though it could be a logistical/time issue and the fact he’s rumoured to be returning to film War Machines, a sequel to another Netflix action hit, War Machine which debuted earlier this year. Reeves himself has an even busier ‘dance-card’ with an extensive range of projects in the next year… including another Sonic the Hedgehog outing,  The Entertainment System Is Down, Shiver and an animated John Wick prequel.