‘Hunter Killer,’ First Trailer: Gerard Butler Leads Team In Rescuing Russian President

When the Russian President is kidnapped by a rogue general, the U.S. Navy SEALs come to the rescue working alongside the Russians to bring their him back. That is the premise of the new Summit military actioner Hunter Killer that stars Gerard Butler, Gary Oldman, Common, Toby Stephens and Linda Cardellini. The submarine military thriller is reminiscent of The Hunt For Red October in building tension in what is a peek into what appears to be an action-packed film.

The first trailer has dropped on the film which was based on the 2012 novel Firing Point from Don Keith and George Wallace. Adapted by Arne Schmidt and Jamie Moss, the story is about an untested American submarine captain who teams with Navy SEALs to rescue the Russian official. The film, directed by Donovan Marsh and produced by Neal Moritz, is set to release theatrically on Oct. 26.

Hunter Killer has quite a history in getting to the screen. Lionsgate acquired Hunter Killer after the project was developed at Relativity Media. It was considered one of the better scripts that the now bankrupt company had.

During Relativity’s descent into bankruptcy, Hunter Killer was the subject of a lawsuit that stated that producers had been fraudulently induced to enter a deal with the company because Relativity execs already knew their company was in financial dire straits. Relativity counter-sued and it was all settled out of court. Lionsgate then picked up the film.

The production of Hunter Killer “was also fully supported by the U.S. Navy,” which usually means they have their hand in the script in exchange for access to military machinery and gear.