'Olympus Has Fallen' Star Will Play CIA Pilot in New Military Thriller

Aaron Eckhart, best known for playing President Benjamin Asher in "Olympus Has Fallen" and "London Has Fallen" and district attorney Harvey Dent in "The Dark Knight," is set to star as a cargo pilot who flies rogue missions for the CIA in "Midair."

Things get weird during a flight when Eckhart's pilot discovers that a terrorist has squirreled away onboard, and he has to figure out a way to eliminate the threat without the plane going down and killing everyone. The film is slated to begin production in July, so look for a late 2024 release.

"Midair" will be directed by Magnus Martens, a Norwegian director who's previously done a ton of action TV ("Power," "Longmire," "Luke Cage," "Fear the Walking Dead," "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.") and directed the British military thriller "SAS: Red Notice," based on the novel by legendary SAS veteran Andy McNab.

Martens is excited to work with Eckhart. "Aaron is a stellar leading man who possesses all the qualities of this character; honor, focus and incredible loyalty. I look forward to bringing this heart pounding, exhilarating story to life for audiences around the globe," Martens said in a press release.

Eckhart most recently played an actual CIA agent in "Chief of Station," a spy thriller produced by Bee Holder and Concourse, which are also behind "Midair." Eckhart replaced Alec Baldwin at the last minute on that movie and producer Steve Jones of Bee Holder said in the release that "working with Aaron on 'Chief of Station' was simply a producer's dream. He is focused like a laser, does his own stunts, noble like the lead character in 'Midair' and he brings it every day from dusk till dawn...so thrilled to be working with him again."

"Chief of Station" was directed by Jesse V. Johnson, the excellent action-movie director who recently made "Avengement" with Scott Adkins and made the impressive pandemic-era World War II movie "Hell Hath No Fury." “Chief of Station” recently wrapped, so expect to see that one in the fall.

Related: 'Hell Hath No Fury' Explores a Darker Side of World War II

There's nothing like hand-to-hand combat on an airplane to juice up an action picture. Here's hoping "Midair" takes place entirely during the flight. We'll have updates on both movies as they get closer to a release date.

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