Dev Patel lands a new film, The Peasant, as an actor-director

Dev Patel will be back in the director's chair for The Peasant, a period revenge action thriller set in India. He will also write and star in this project after fulfilling all these duties in Monkey Man, the 2024 action thriller, also set in India. The Peasant shares a few more similarities with this project as it will also be an adrenaline-fueled actioner like John Wick, backed by Thunder Road Films.

The Hollywood Reporter points it out as a mix of John Wick and Braveheart, with medieval knights battling in feudal India. Patel knows more than a thing or two about working on medieval era-set films, as he also starred in David Lowery's 2021 film, The Green Knight, which followed him as King Arthur's young nephew.

According to THR, the official synopsis for The Peasant, from writer-director Dev Patel, reads:

"Set in the 1300s, it centers on a shepherd who embarks on a rage-fueled campaign against a group of mercenary knights who ransacked his community, revealing himself to be more than he seems."

Joining Thunder Road in the production duties is Fifth Season, the production house behind shows like Severance and Tokyo Vice, which is also financing the project.THR says that the producers hope to turn the film into a franchise.

The Peasant: Dev Patel returns with a John Wick-style revenge action thriller set in India

Before being a Dev Patel project, The Peasant was actually written in an Italian setting. Will Dunn, a screenwriter who has worked on Marvel's Ms. Marvel, wrote the original script, which was a part of the 2023 Black List. It created a considerable buzz, landing it on the honorable list of one of the finest unproduced screenplays.

Dunn's script revolved around a character connected to the Pope in Italy. However, after the change in creative direction, Dev Patel's The Peasant will place that story in the lively world of India. Patel has previously worked in an Indian setting with his directorial debut. However, this time, he will follow a world set in the past.

Fifth Season, the producers behind Patel's project, have backed movies like Jon M. Chu's In The Heights, Maggie Gyllenhaal's The Lost Daughter, and Michael B. Jordan-led Just Mercy. Their recent projects include David Ayer's A Working Man, starring Jason Statham, and Andrew DeYoung's Friendship, a comedy-drama starring Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd.

Thunder Road Films has worked on a majority of the John Wick projects and is known for its action thrillers. They have backed Gerald Butler-led Kandahar and John Woo's Silent Knight. Their upcoming project, Fight or Flight, starring Josh Hartnett, is also a comedic actioner.