Lily James and Pierce Brosnan to Star in ‘Cliffhanger’ Reboot

Pierce Brosnan will co-star in the new take on the high-stakes thriller, which now has Jaume Collet-Serra in the director’s chair.

Lily James in 'Cliffhanger'. Photo: Rocket Science.

Preview:

Lily James and Pierce Brosnan is starring in a new version of ‘Cliffhanger.’
Sylvester Stallone is no longer aboard.
Jaume Collet-Serra is taking over directing.

Back in May of last year, it appeared that the long-gestating reboot of ‘Cliffhanger’ was ready to be born instead as a sequel to the 1993 original, with star Sylvester Stallone pulling on his climbing gear for a return as Gabe Walker.

Cliffhanger

"The height of adventure."

R1 hr 52 minMay 28th, 1993

Showtimes & Tickets

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Yet as these things always seem to do, the project has since evolved back into more of a reboot, with Stallone dropping out (hopefully not down a giant cliff) and the storyline switching to characters played by Lily James and Pierce Brosnan.

And there have also been some changes behind the camera, too.

What’s the story of this new ‘Cliffhanger’?

Lily James on the set of 'Cliffhanger'. Photo: Rocket Science.

The first change beyond the stars for the movie is in the script, which is based on a story by Ana Lily Amirpour (who was involved with the film back in another incarnation in 2019). Variety has heard it described as a father-daughter take on ‘Die Hard.’

Brosnan will play seasoned mountaineer Ray Cooper, who operates a luxury chalet in the Dolomites with daughter Sydney.

During a weekend trip with a billionaire’s son, they are targeted by a gang of kidnappers. Ray’s other daughter Naomi (James), still haunted by a past climbing accident, witnesses the attack and escapes. To save her family, she must confront her fears and fight for survival.

Who else is in the new ‘Cliffhanger’?

Nell Tiger Free Talks 'The First Omen'.

The cast for the new movie also includes ‘The First Omen’s Nell Tiger Free, ‘Passages’ Franz Rogowski, Shubham Saraf of ‘Shantaram,’ ‘Franklin’ actor Assaad Bouab, ‘Poor Things’ performer Suzy Bemba and Bruno Gouery from ‘Emily in Paris.’

Who is working on the new ‘Cliffhanger’ movie?

(L to R) Director Jaume Collet-Serra and Dwayne Johnson on the set of New Line Cinema’s action adventure 'Black Adam,' a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Frank Masi. Copyright: © 2022 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

While Ric Roman Waugh was aboard to direct the film when Sly was still aboard, the reins have now passed to ‘Non-Stop’s Jaume Collet-Serra, with the producing team of Rocket Science still aboard after all these different iterations.

Collet-Serra is busy rolling cameras on the movie now in Austria and offered up this statement:

“Shooting our movie on location in the Dolomites using large format cameras was imperative for us to show the scope and scale of the story we’re telling. We’re going to bring the audience a truly thrilling and visceral, premium theatrical experience. Lily in particular has gone above and beyond for the role, putting in real training and learning to climb. Her dedication has allowed us to capture some incredible shots we couldn’t have achieved otherwise, and the whole crew is blown away by her commitment.”

When will the new ‘Cliffhanger’ dangle into theaters?

Rocket Science will be offering domestic distribution rights to the movie, with CAA Media selling international.

Which is a longwinded way of saying that there is no studio aboard yet, so we’ll have to wait for any release date details. But the fact remains that the movie shooting at all is a big step forward.