EXCLUSIVE: Looks like Gerard Butler won’t be alone for London Is Falling, the Millennium Films sequel to the action hit Olympus Has Fallen. Babak Najafi, best known for helming Easy Money II: Hard to Kill (better known as the sequel to Snabba Cash) is now in discussions to helm the action film that is being transplanted to the Blighty.
This has been a hot open assignment since Charlie Countryman helmer Fredrik Bond bristled at the scale of the movie and exited. He got the job after the helmer of the original, Antoine Fuqua, didn’t like the sequel direction and decided not to take part.
Several up and comers went after the job, and were rumored to be getting on a plane and heading to meet Butler. One was Wayne Blair, helmer of The Sapphires. Now, I’m told that the job will belong to Najafi if his reps at UTA and Magnolia can make the deal.
Najafi made his directorial debut with Sebbe, which won Best Debut Film at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2010. He has also directed episodes of Banshee. The original grossed $ 99 million domestic, and $ 161 million worldwide. Setting the action in an international front could improve the latter number.
