Angelina Jolie Sets First Gangster Movie In 27 Years With Acclaimed Director

Angelina Jolie Sets First Gangster Movie In 27 Years With Acclaimed Director

Actress Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas in Pablo Larrain’s biopic, Maria. 

  By  Abigail Stevens Published 27 minutes ago Abigail is an editor for ScreenRant, currently writing and editing movie news. You may also have seen her thoughts on animated television, musical theater, and fantasy literature in Paste Magazine, Fantasy Hive, or The Oxford Blue. She has also written SR lists and op-eds covering movies, TV, and books as well. She is an English major through and through, having graduated with a B.A. from UC Santa Barbara and an MPhil from Oxford University. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

Angelina Joliehas begun production on a new dark thriller, working with a notable TV director. The Oscar-winning actress just starred in the French drama Couture this year (which premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival); before that, her most recent on-screen appearances were 2024's Maria and 2021's Eternals.

Now, Deadline reports that Jolie is starring in the upcoming thriller Sunny, which follows a gangster trying to protect herself and her sons from an abusive kingpin, when a disaster leaves her with only hours to plan their escape. Eva Sørhaug, director of three episodes of Yellowjackets and two episodes of Tokyo Vice, is directing Sunny.

Jolie remains one of the biggest names in Hollywood, having won her Oscar for 1999's Girl, Interrupted, while also being known for the likes of Salt, Maleficent, Changeling, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, and more. The last feature she starred in that is arguably a gangster movie was 1998's Hell Kitchen, following a group after a robbery gone wrong.

Angelina Jolie wearing a fur cap as Evelyn Salt in Salt

Sunny is backed by Gramercy Park Media, A Higher Standard, and Nickel City Pictures, with a script written by William Day Frank (Susie Searches, Fixation), based on a story created by him and Sørhaug. Nickel City producer Mark Fasano claimed that the recent Golden Globe nominee is a "tour-de-force" in Sunny, telling Deadline:

People are going to be shocked by what she [Jolie] brings with this riveting character. This violent world that Eva and Angelina have crafted is grounded in survival and family led by a mother doing anything and everything within her power to protect her two boys.

Jolie is also producing Sunny, alongside Fasano, as well as A Higher Standard's Jeffrey Greenstein and Gramercy Park's Nathan Klingher. But Sørhaug's work on TV makes the project especially interesting, as the filmmaker also recently helmed two episodes of Talamasca: The Secret Order: season 1, episodes 3 and 4, titled "The Task at Hand" and "Wet Work."

Sørhaug's episodes of Yellowjackes — the psychological thriller series that perhaps makes her especially suited to direct Jolie's movie — are all from season 1, being episode 3, "The Dollhouse," episode 5, "Blood Hive," and episode 7, "No Compass." While Sørhaug had a hand in making this series the hit that will continue with Yellowjackets season 4, the director moved on to other projects.

Will Sunny turn out to be one of Jolie's best movies and a career-defining feat for Sørhaug? Only time will tell. This is the first feature film Sørhaug is directing since 2012's 90 Minutes, another Toronto International Film Festival selection, and with a strong story and an iconic star leading it, it could be a significant entry into the gangster genre.

Follow Followed Angelina Jolie Birthdate June 4, 1975 Birthplace Los Angeles, California, USA Notable Projects Maleficent, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

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