Armie Hammer’s comeback is picking up steam after nabbing the starring role in Uwe Boll’s latest film, “The Dark Knight.”
Hammer is set to play the crime-fighting titular character in the vigilante thriller, which is scheduled to begin principal photography in Croatia on Jan. 27.
The embattled actor, who saw his career come to a halt in 2021 following allegations of sexual misconduct, recently returned to work in Travis Mills’ forthcoming western “Frontier Crucible,” which also stars Thomas Jane and William H. Macy.
Following a lengthy probe, Los Angeles prosecutors in 2023 declined to charge the actor with any crime.
Prior to the allegations, Hammer starred in such high-profile pics as Gore Verbinski’s “The Lone Ranger” alongside Johnny Depp, Guy Ritchie’s “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” with Henry Cavill and Luca Guadagnino’s “Call Me by Your Name” with Timothée Chalamet.
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In a recent podcast interview, Hammer said that his acting career has picked up so much that he’s started to turn jobs down. “My dance card’s getting pretty full,” he said. “That first job that I turned down after four years of this shit, I mean, it was the best feeling I’ve ever had.”
In “The Dark Knight,” based on an original script by Boll, Hammer plays Sanders, who takes justice into his own hands as he sets out to hunt down criminals. While his crusade transforms him into a social media sensation and a hero in the eyes of the public, the local police chief sees him as a menace to society and aims to take him down.
“The story of ‘The Dark Knight’ couldn’t be a more current topic, and I’m excited to bring it to life with this excellent cast,” said Boll, whose recent films include the crime drama “First Shift” and the forthcoming migrant crisis thriller “Run.”
While the new film’s familiar title might conjure images of a certain caped crusader, executive producer Michael Roesch pointed out that “our movie is very different from Chris Nolan’s movie, so there is no danger of confusion.”
“With Armie Hammer in the lead role and more great actors to be announced soon, and with an outstanding script, we are excited to build up on the great response we got for ‘First Shift’ and ‘Run,’ and will have another strong movie soon,” Roesch added.
Representatives for Hammer did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
“First Shift,” starring Gino Anthony Pesi and Kristen Renton, became a surprise hit on Paramount+ in December, starting at No. 2 in the charts. “Run,” starring three-time Emmy and Tony winner Amanda Plummer, James Russo, Ulrich Thomsen and Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi, is being handled internationally by UTA Independent Film Group and is currently in negotiations for a U.S. release.
“The Dark Knight” marks Boll’s 37th film. The prolific director’s list of credits includes big-budget action movies like “In the Name of the King” with Jason Statham, cult favorites “Postal” and the “Rampage” trilogy, and such socially conscious films as “Attack on Darfur” and “Assault on Wall Street.”
“The Dark Knight” is produced by Boll along with Roesch as executive producer. Boll is again working with his regular collaborators, including DP Mathias Neumann, line producer Boris Velican and editor Ethan Maniquis.
Tunnel Post in Santa Monica is handling post-production on the feature.