*Courtesy of Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images.*

Hayley Atwell has joined Gerard Butler in the upcoming action-thriller ‘Empire City,’ which begins filming this month.

Michael Matthews (‘Love & Monsters’) will direct from a script by Brian Tucker and S. Craig Zahler. The film follows firefighter Rhett (Butler) and his NYPD officer wife Dani (Atwell) as they fight their way through New York’s Clybourn Building during a high-stakes hostage crisis.

The project reunites Butler and his G-BASE partner Alan Siegel with ‘Plane’ producer Marc Butan of MadRiver Pictures. Paul Currie also produces. Leonine Studios co-financed development, with Quirin Berg and Alexander Janssen serving as executive producers.

The Veterans are handling international sales, and CAA Media Finance is overseeing domestic rights. Sales will continue at the American Film Market.

‘Empire City’ is financed through MadRiver’s multi-year equity and distribution pact with several global distributors, including DeAPlaneta (Spain), Eagle Pictures (Italy), IDC Distribution (Latin America), Leonine Studios (Germany/Austria), The Searchers (Benelux), Shochiku (Japan), SND (France), and Unicorn Media (Eastern Europe). The group’s first film under the deal, ‘Mutiny’ starring Jason Statham, will be released next year by Lionsgate.

Butler recently appeared in Universal’s live-action ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ and the box-office-topping ‘Den of Thieves 2: Pantera.’ Atwell recently starred in ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning’ and continues to be known worldwide for her role as Peggy Carter in Marvel films and the series ‘Agent Carter.’

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