Aaron Pierre replaces John Boyega with filming set to restart in April 2022.
Pictures: Getty Images
Rebel Ridge, created by Jeremy Saulnier (Green Room) and originally starring John Boyega (Star Wars), was among our most anticipated titles. However, the production has been plagued by issues at every turn. Will we ever get to see Rebel Ridge on Netflix?
Rebel Ridge was first announced in November 2019 (five years ago at the time of this update in mid-2024!) but getting to release has been quite a journey as we’ll take you through below. It’s not the only Netflix movie that has or is still taking a long time to reach our screens. Titles like Havoc and The Old Guard 2 have similarly faced numerous road bumps.
Directing, writing, and producing the movie Jeremy Saulnier, best known for his work on Green Room, which starred the late Anton Yelchin and Imogen Poots. More recently, Saulnier directed Hold the Dark for Netflix, which starred Jeffrey Wright and Alexander Skarsgard.
When the project was first announced, Saulnier on Twitter spoke about why he was working with Netflix saying:
“Sold it on the open market to the studio best suited for this particular project. It’s not a cheap film and my leading man isn’t wearing tights. Netflix best supports my efforts to bring forth mid-budget old-school action with little or no green screen.”
Magnus Nordenhof Jonck, who worked on The OA, Borgen, and Hold the Dark, was chosen as the director of photography for Rebel Ridge.
Rebel Ridge is produced by Filmscience (Blue Ruin, Hold the Dark, Green Room) and Bonneville Pictures (The Pool). Macon Blair (Room 104, Blue Ruin) will serve as an executive producer, as will Louise Lovegrove (The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then Bigfoot). Matt Levin (Hold the Dark, Apostle) oversaw production.
As we’ll come onto during the production status section of this article, the movie was anything but plain sailing but still remains on Netflix’s slate in post-production. Here’s what you need to know.
What is the plot of Rebel Ridge?
Netflix’s Rebel Ridge is a high-velocity thriller with bone-breaking action sequences, suspense, and dark humor. The plot involves Boyega’s (now Pierre) character, an ex-marine who takes on a group of dirty cops. The film will also explore systemic American injustices, particularly systemic racism.
The official logline for the movie is as follows:
“About an ex-marine who takes on a group of dirty cops in a high-velocity thriller that explores systemic American injustices through bone-breaking action sequences and dark humor”
Who was cast in Rebel Ridge, and who is now?
Star Wars’ sequel trilogy star John Boyega was to lead the cast of Rebel Ridge. Boyega came fresh off his other upcoming Netflix movie, a sci-fi action flick called They Cloned Tyrone, which wrapped in January 2021 and premiered in 2023.
Boyega was set to be joined by Golden Globe winner Don Johnson (Miami Vice, Django Unchained), Oscar nominee James Cromwell (The Green Mile, The General’s Daughter), James Badge Dale (The Departed, Iron Man 3), Zsane Jhe (Black Lightning, Watchmen), and Erin Doherty (The Crown). Their roles currently remain unknown.
In June 2021, it was announced that John Boyega was no longer part of the cast as he departed the project mid-shoot due to family reasons. Netflix was reportedly looking for his replacement.
In October 2021, it was reported that Netflix had found its John Boyega replacement in the form of Aaron Pierre, known for The Underground Railroad and M. Night Shyamalan’s mystery horror, Old.
Anna Sophia Robb (Bridge to Terabithia) and Emory Cohen (The OA) also joined the cast.
Reportedly returning from the original cast:
- Don Johnson
- James Badge Dale
- Zsane Jhe
- James Cromwell
What’s Rebel Ridge‘s production status?
According to the director, the production schedule for Rebel Ridge was “tumultuous,” as we’ll discuss below.
In January 2020, Boyega shared that he should be training up for production (this is a screenshot of the Tweet, given that Boyega has since deleted his profile).
On May 10th, 2021 – KALB (an NBC news affiliate) posted that filming for the movie was taking place in Downtown Leesville in Louisiana. They state that they were filming in the area until May 12th before moving to Slidell, Louisiana.
On June 3, 2021 (around a month after beginning filming), Netflix announced that Boyega had to exit the project due to family reasons. That meant all production on the project ceased.
“Rebel Ridgeis pausing temporarily as we look to re-cast John Boyega who needed to leave the project for family reasons. We remain committed to Jeremy Saulnier’s extraordinary film and look forward to resuming production. We look forward to continuing our partnership with John Boyega’s UpperRoom Productions, in addition to our upcoming filmThey Cloned Tyronein which he also stars.”
According to sources from The Hollywood Reporter, Boyega quit the production without telling anyone, and the alleged reasons were related to the script and his accommodations. THR also suggests that even Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos tried to persuade Boyega to come back. His agent, however, defended his client in a statement:
“I can categorically say that these rumours are completely untrue. People will form their opinions often rooted from boredom. As stated John unfortunately left due to family reasons which in truth is none of anyone’s business except his own. John and Netflix have a wonderful relation which will continue to grow for years to come whether that be through his acting or through [Boyega’s production company] UpperRoom.”
After those stories in June 2021, the project went quiet, but new production listings seem to suggest signs of life once again.
ProductionWeekly listings in early 2022 stated that filming is set to pick up again between April 18th and June 24th, 2022, with the changed cast.
Slightly later than initially planned, Saulnier confirmed that production had wrapped in July 2022, posting on Twitter:
“Wrap on REBEL RIDGE. Third time was indeed a charm. Eternal thanks to the cast and crew for their collective art and cinematic fortitude. Now, a donut and a nap.”
The director spoke to FilmStories in March 2024, suggesting that the movie was deep into post-production with a sound mix taking place in early 2024. He spoke a bit about the problems with the movie saying, ““It had a tumultuous birthing process, but because of that, it’s my first movie where I’m fully at peace with it at the release point – whatever that might be, we have not found the release date yet.”
When will Rebel Ridge be released on Netflix?
There’s still no release date for Rebel Ridge or any window officially given.
World of Reel has been on the case for this movie throughout 2023 and into 2024, citing a positive test screening in July 2023. They then spotted that a Deadline piece noted that the movie would be released in the latter half of 2024.
Netflix’s official film slate for the year still doesn’t include Rebel Ridge among the titles, and our understanding is that the movie isn’t likely going to be on your Netflix accounts until at least early 2025. We wouldn’t be surprised for it to hit one of the film festivals before dropping on Netflix.
Contains contributions from Tigran Asatryan.
Are you looking forward to seeing Rebel Ridge? Let us know in the comments.
