The Avenue has landed North American rights to the action comedy Old Guy, starring Christoph Waltz, Lucy Liu and Cooper Hoffman.

Simon West (The Expendables 2, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, The Mechanic) directed the film, while The Last Son scribe Greg Johnson penned the script.

The film follows aging contract killer Danny Dolinski (Waltz), who still believes he’s the best at what he does. Stuck at a dead end but vying for the love of club manager Anata (Liu), Danny is thrilled when The Company pulls him back in the field — but it’s only to train Gen Z newcomer Wihlborg (Hoffman), a prodigy assassin with an attitude. The mismatched pair is asked to eliminate top members of a competing crime syndicate and, in the process, uncover their employer’s true motive: removing the old guard in a full takeover. However, The Company didn’t anticipate that Danny’s experience, coupled with Wihlbord’s brilliance, could enable them to turn it all back on The Company.

Waltz most recently starred in Jeffrey Walker’s 2023 fantasy adventure film The Portable Door and on Prime Video’s thriller series The Consultant. He’s next set to star in Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein alongside Jacob Elordi, Oscar Isaac and Mia Goth.

Jib Polhemus (The Last Son, The Expendables 2), Martin Brennan (One Way, Zone 414), Simon West and R.U. Robot Studio’s Petr Jákl (Medieval, The Last Full Measure) will produce Old Guy, while Hal Sadoff (The Nice Guys, Orphan: First Kill) and Norman Golightly (Lord of War, Ghost Rider) will produce on behalf of Dark Castle Entertainment.

The film is executive produced by Highland Film Group’s Arianne Fraser and Delphine Perrier, The Avenue’s JJ Caruth, R.U. Robot Studio’s Martin J. Barab, Blue Rider Pictures’ Walter Josten (Around the World in 80 Days, Holes) and Aperture Media Partners’ Jared Underwood, Andrew Robinson and Dan Mandel.

“We are so excited to bring Old Guy to audiences and show how being old school doesn’t mean you’re over the hill! Having such an incredibly talented actor as two-time Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz lead our cast is a dream come true. He is one of Hollywood’s most versatile actors and brilliantly portrays the veteran contract killer who gets pushed out of the game, but still believes he’s the best in the business,” said JJ Caruth, President of Domestic Marketing and Distribution for The Avenue.

Highland Film Group is handling international sales for the film, which The Avenue will release in September.

By Katcy Stephan, Variety