The Fisherwoman Cast, Director, Plot And More Details

The critically acclaimed actress Emma Thompson made a name for herself acting in period pieces and adaptations of lauded works of literature. She appeared in the film versions of "Henry V" and "Much Ado About Nothing," as well as "Howards End," "Remains of the Day," and "Sense and Sensibility," the latter three of which each earned her Academy Award nominations (via IMDb). On paper, then, Thompson might not seem like the obvious choice for the upcoming action thriller "The Fisherwoman."

Thompson, however, has always walked to the beat of her own drum. Recall, if you will, when she presented a Golden Globe award in 2014 barefoot, martini in hand. Thompson has brought that rebellious spirit to her performances and the roles she chooses. She actively challenged ageism within the romance genre with "Good Luck To You, Leo Grande," in which a middle-aged woman embraces her sexuality with the help of a younger man. Now, Thompson is defying ageism in action films with the upcoming "The Fisherwoman." Here's everything we know about the upcoming film.

As of this writing, there is no release date set for "The Fisherwoman." That said, the production gears for the upcoming thriller have begun to turn. "The Fisherman" is currently in the pre-production stage and has secured American and international financial backers. The film's distribution rights will be for sale at February's European Film Market in Berlin, with Mossbank–Sculptor Media's international sales division introducing the project to prospective buyers (via Variety).

That's a lot of inside baseballs, but on the creative side of things, the "The Fisherwoman" screenplay was penned by Dalton Leeb and Nicholas Jacobson-Larson. The screenwriting duo also has a script for the Mattel joint "Hot Wheels" in the works, as well as one for the alien invasion thriller "The Fall."

While production has yet to begin for "The Fisherwoman," Emma Thompson appears to have an available shooting schedule, with her most recent projects behind her.

Slated as an action thriller, "The Fisherwoman" follows a widowed fisherwoman who gets trapped in a Minnesota blizzard. While sequestered in the snow, she interrupts the kidnapping of a teenager. She soon discovers that she's the teen's only hope. It remains to be seen whether the protagonist's vocation will figure into the plot, or if "The Fisherman" will strictly be a landlubber's affair. Minnesota may have about 10,000 lakes, give or take, but they're liable to freeze over in the midst of a wild blizzard.

In any case, Jon Berg, president of production at Stampede Ventures, expanded on the title character's defining qualities, which he believes she shares with star Emma Thompson. "Dame Emma Thompson is a phenomenally talented artist and the perfect incarnation of our film's titular character," said Berg. "We couldn't be more honored and excited to see her embody a character that shares her unique strength, grit, and intelligence" (via Variety).

Emma Thompson is starring in "The Fisherwoman," and will also serve as an executive producer, Variety confirms. "The Fisherwoman" is the latest in a number of recent high-profile projects for the Academy Award-winning actress, including her role as Miss Trunchbull in "Matilda the Musical" and her Golden Globe-nominated performance in "Good Luck To You, Leo Grande" (via IMDb).

Needless to say, the action thriller genre is typically a boys club, or at least a younger actor's game, and Thompson's involvement in "The Fisherwoman" will surely be a breath of fresh air. To her credit, Thompson has been advocating for roles for older women for years. "We're constantly watching films where older men have wonderful roles and older women really don't," the actress told Vulture in 2018, and she also pointed to the double standard of age gaps between male actors and their on-screen counterparts.

"The Fisherwoman" will be directed by Brian Kirk. The Irish director's credits include episodes of "The Tudors," "Dexter," "Boardwalk Empire," and "Game of Thrones." Kirk is also the co-creator and director of "Luther," the Idris Elba-starring crime thriller series that aired from 2010 to 2019 (via IMDb). Kirk is perhaps best known for directing his previous film, the 2019 feature "21 Bridges." "21 Bridges" was one of Chadwick Boseman's final on-screen performances before he died in 2020.

Kirk honed his action sequence directing chops in his television work and in "21 Bridges," and he'll certainly bring that expertise to "The Fisherwoman." For "21 Bridges" in particular, which followed a manhunt in locked-down Manhattan, Kirk relied on drone footage to capture the film's scale and unique sense of architecture. "As you go forward the film begins to tell you how to photograph it," Kirk told Screen Rant in 2019. "It assumes a life of its own and it begins to speak back." It will be fascinating to see if Kirk applies the same technique to the snowy, high-stakes environment of "The Fisherwoman."