The Pack - What We Know So Far

Any actor in Hollywood who is lucky enough to make it big in the industry and live comfortably off their earnings has the option to step out of their comfort zone and try new things. Just look at what happened with Leonardo DiCaprio: he went from being typecast as a pretty boy heartthrob in the '90s to eventually partnering up with Martin Scorsese once he had the financial freedom to be more selective with his roles. And it looks like Alexander Skarsgård is about to follow a similar path.

The successful Swedish actor is currently on board to star in and direct an upcoming 30West film called "The Pack." But he's not alone. A producer and writer have already been chosen (more on that in a minute), and they recently released exciting casting news about who will co-star with Skarsgård while he's doing double duty both in front of and behind the camera.

Here's what we know about "The Pack" so far.

According to this Deadline exclusive, the film so far has identified two of its biggest stars, Rose Gilroy has been tapped to write the screenplay, and producer Jennifer Fox is working on it, too. Filming will begin in March of 2023. According to the details of the plot (again, more on that in a minute), it will be a character-driven drama — so as long as there aren't too many wild stunts, filming should be relatively short.

Another factor that will play heavily into when the film gets released is how producer Jennifer Fox and her production company decide to release it. The majority of her production credits revolve around documentaries and Indie projects. So it's uncertain whether or not the star power of the main actors will inspire a box office release or whether Fox will try and debut it on the Indie scene before giving it a full release. Either way, audiences may not get a chance to see the final product until 2024 at the earliest.

According to that Deadline exclusive we mentioned earlier, the synopsis describes "documentarians who brave the remote wilderness of Alaska in an effort to save a nearly extinct species of wolves. When the crew is brought back together at a prestigious awards ceremony, tensions flare as a deadly truth threatens to unravel their work. The team lived through the harsh elements of the wild but will a secret they share survive the night?"

That brief plot description sounds like what would happen if "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "The Grey" had a little Indie baby. The '90s cult slasher flick was so successful that it is now a series on Amazon Prime, and Liam Neeson's wolf-punching drama grossed nearly $80 million globally (via Box Office Mojo). So it's a very compelling premise. This is especially true considering the two prominent actors who have already signed up to play starring roles in the project.

The newest and most exciting news about "The Pack" is that Florence Pugh is now on board to star alongside Alexander Skarsgård. We do not yet know who she will be playing or her role, but we know that it's not her first rodeo shooting in the wilderness on a mystery-thriller project. (Looking at you, "Midsommar"). The Oscar-nominated actor has been very busy lately with "Dune: Part 2," several appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and her show-stealing performance in "Little Women."

Skarsgård also has a starring role in the project. Again, we are not yet sure which character he will play or what his character's presence will bring to the table. But anybody who has been watching him since "True Blood" knows that his ability to hold a smoldering gaze and create tension in a scene is one of his stronger talents. So he sounds like a good fit for a tense, possible whodunnit mystery.

But that's not all Alexander Skarsgård will be doing on set. He's also going to direct the film. There has been no announcement on whether or not he will be directing the project by himself or whether he will have a co-director or assistant director on hand. Directing a film all by yourself is a massive challenge, and starring in it simultaneously is an even more ambitious move.

This will be Skarsgård's first time directing a feature film, but it is not his first time wearing a director's hat. In 2003, he co-directed a Swedish short film with his friend Bjorn Larson called "Att Doda ett Barn" ("To Kill a Child"). Based on the IMDb description, it seems as though the film's plot revolves around a man who hits a child with his car. Sadly, it doesn't appear that Larson is very active in today's entertainment industry. His Deep Forest Films website returns 404 errors, he hasn't posted to his Instagram account since 2018, and his last credit on his IMDb page was for the short film "Troll" in 2019.

Given what we know of the plot so far, it's doubtful that this film will be a family-friendly, G-rated Sunday matinee parents can bring their children to. The movies we compared "The Pack" to earlier received an R rating from the MPAA when they came out in 1997 and 2011, respectively. Depending on how deep into the thriller genre this project wants to go, it'll likely be an adult-only affair, too.

However, it's common for movie studios to try and push their film down to a PG-13 rating to potentially maximize profits and increase box office ticket sales. A similar process happened with Zack Snyder's polarizing action flick "Sucker Punch," much to the chagrin of fans. But if they don't have too many bloody, violent action sequences with the wolves and tone down the adult language, a more appealing PG-13 rating could be possible.