“Die Hard on an X” is a popular pitch for movies with similar plots. Die Hard on a plane is Air Force One. Die Hard on a ship is Under Siege. Die Hard on a bus is Speed. The latest pitch is Die Hard on a submarine, and the result is Subversion, a new action movie starring Chris Hemsworth.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Hemsworth has signed on to star in Subversion, a submarine thriller for Amazon MGM Studios. Patrick Vollrath, best known for his short film Everything Will Be Okay, will direct from a screenplay by Andrew Ferguson.
In the style of Die Hard, Subversion follows a hopeful Naval commander (Hemsworth) who is blackmailed by a cartel-like operation into operating a dangerous submarine carrying illegal cargo across international waters. Per THR, “Thrust into a high-stakes game of cat and mouse, the man must outmaneuver blockades and navigate perilous threats both in and outside of the submarine.”
Lorenzo di Bonaventura will produce under his di Bonaventura Pictures banner. Production is slated to begin this fall in Australia.
Vollrath has experience with directing films set on modes of transportation. Vollrath made his feature film directorial debut on 2019’s 7500, an action movie starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt about a pilot stuck in the cockpit while Islamic terrorists hijack the plane.
After breaking through as Thor in the MCU, Hemsworth has been a leading action star for over 15 years. Hemsworth will reprise the God of Thunder in Avengers: Doomsday.
Outside of Marvel, Hemsworth’s best action role is Tyler Rake in the Extraction franchise from stuntman-turned-director Sam Hargrave. The two Extraction movies have been praised for their stunt choreography and use of one-shot takes to film elaborate action sequences.
Hemsworth will star in another movie from Amazon MGM Studios, Bart Layton’s Crime 101. The crime thriller stars Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, and Halle Berry. Crime 101 will be released in theaters in 2026.
