Dev Patel to make his directorial debut with Netflix's Monkey Man

Actor Dev Patel is making his directorial debut with Monkey Man (2022), in which he will play the lead role of a man who seeks revenge on those who put him in prison. According to a report on Deadline.com, Netflix bought the worldwide rights for the film for $30 million.

The film, for which shooting has just been completed in Indonesia, has been described as John Wick (2014) set in Mumbai. It was originally supposed to be filmed in India but was pushed back owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The film will also feature Patel’s Chappie (2015) co-star Sharlto Copley, along with Indian artistes Sobhita Dhulipala and Sikandar Kher. Patel has written the script of Monkey Man along with Paul Angunawela and John Collee, and is said to be inspired by Hanuman.

Patel told Deadline that he was thrilled to partner with Netflix on his directorial debut. “I hope this will be a fresh addition to the genre at a time in this industry where my story can become our story,” he said. “Shooting a film during a pandemic has been quite challenging, to say the least, but the opportunity to reimagine stories from my childhood and infuse them with my love of action cinema has been an absolute joy. Big love to Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee for championing us from the very beginning and Aaron Gilbert and the team at Bron for giving an unproven filmmaker like myself a voice.”

The actor-turned-filmmaker was previously seen in The Personal History Of David Copperfield (2020). His next project is The Green Knight (2021), directed by David Lowery, which is due to be released in July.