The super spies of producer Aditya Chopra’s spy universe are set to converge in Yash Raj Films’ “Tiger 3.” Hrithik Roshan‘s Kabir from “War” and Shah Rukh Khan‘s Pathaan from “Pathaan” are set to join Salman Khan‘s Avinash Singh Rathore and Katrina Kaif’s Zoya Humaini Rathore in the film, Variety has learned.
The spy universe kicked off with the Tiger franchise, starring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif, beginning with “Ek Tha Tiger” (2012) and “Tiger Zinda Hai” (2017) and continued with “War” (2019), starring Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff and “Pathaan” (2023), starring Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone.
In the Tiger franchise, Salman Khan plays Avinash Singh Rathore, AKA Tiger, who belongs to Indian intelligence agency RAW and Kaif plays Zoya Humaini Rathore, an ex-agent from Pakistan’s ISI. In “War,” Roshan is rogue RAW agent Kabir Dhaliwal and Shroff his protégé Khalid Rahmani. In “Pathaan,” Shah Rukh Khan plays exiled RAW agent Pathaan and Padukone ISI agent Rubina Mohsin.
In “Tiger 3,” directed by Maneesh Sharma (“Band Baaja Baaraat”), Tiger is in peril after being framed as enemy number one and goes on a life-threatening mission to hunt down his enemies. Tiger wants to clear his name for his country, for his family and he won’t stop at anything. Emraan Hashmi plays the antagonist Aatish Rehman.
“Aditya Chopra has set the wheels in motion for a full convergence of super spies within the YRF spy universe,” an industry source told Variety. “No one knows this but along with Pathaan, Kabir too will make his appearance in ‘Tiger 3.’ A handful of people know how Adi is visualising Kabir in ‘Tiger 3’ and this information is being kept under wraps to be only revealed when it releases in theaters on November 12.”
The four spy universe films so far have together grossed some $300 million.
The Tiger character had an extended cameo in “Pathaan” and the film also featured Colonel Sunil Luthra (Ashutosh Rana), who first appeared in “War” and is expected to be in “Tiger 3” as well. Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan will headline “Tiger vs Pathaan,” which is expected to commence principal photography in January 2024. NTR Jr, star of Oscar- and Golden Globe-winner “RRR,” will feature alongside Hrithik Roshan in “War 2,” one of the future instalments in the spy universe.
“Tiger 3” will release in India on Nov. 12, the day of India’s biggest festival, Diwali, in the Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages. It will release in North American one day earlier on Nov. 11.