Action films have proven to be massively successful for Netflix, which has been minting hits with titles such as crime thriller The Rip, sci-fi flick War Machine, survival thriller Apex, and shark pic Thrash, just this year alone.
Now, the streamer is looking to bring back, or reinvent, the police helicopter action thriller.
Netflix is in development on Helo, setting Andrés Baiz to direct the feature. Edward Berger, the filmmaker behind All Quiet on the Western Front and Conclave, is producing via his Nine Hours banner with partner Luke Rivett.
Baiz is already a known quantity at Netflix thanks to his work on crime shows such as Narcos and Griselda. But he recently wrapped production on Jamie Foxx sports drama Fight for 84, which execs feel will be a knockout for the streamer in 2027. They were thus ready to quickly get him onto another feature.
While plot details are being kept in the fuselage, it is known that Berger and Rivett brought the concept to executives, who then enlisted Patrick Aison, known for his work on the recent live-action Predator movies, to write the script.
The studio whirred to what has been described as Aison’s fresh and distinct take on the police helicopter angle, which really hasn’t been explored since 1983’s thriller Blue Thunder. That movie starred Roy Scheider and was directed by John Badham.
Sources say the project is being described as “End of Watch meets Top Gun.”
Colombian-born Baiz is known for his gritty series work, most of which has been for Netflix. He directed many of the key episodes of its acclaimed crime show Narcos and Narcos: Mexico, and the entirety of Griselda, the crime drama mini-series that starred Sofia Vergara as crime lord Griselda Blanco. He also directed episodes of the streamer’s adaptation of DC/Vertigo comic The Sandman.
Baiz is repped by CAA, Management 360 and Hansen Jacobson.
