What if John Wick was played by Charlize Theron, followed a group of MI-6 agents instead of assassins, but still kept the fierce hand-to-hand combat and sensuality that made John Wick as memorable as it is?
That’s Atomic Blonde.
Atomic Blonde is the newest movie from David Leitch, who rose to fame with John Wick (but wasn’t involved with John Wick: Chapter 2) and was recently announced as the director of Deadpool 2. The film follows Agent Lorraine Broughton (Theron), one of the deadliest spies in Her Majesty’s army. Described as “equal parts spycraft, sensuality and savagery, willing to deploy any of her skills to stay alive on her impossible mission,” according to the official description. Broughton is sent to Berlin to deliver a “priceless dossier,” and partners with an embedded chief detective in the city, David Percival (James McAvoy), to try and make it out of the city alive.
Atomic Blonde was first announced on May 9, 2015, when Focus Features confirmed it had purchased the rights to Antony Johnston's 2012 graphic novel The Coldest City, which the movie is based on. The graphic novel follows a spy who is tasked with finding a list of double agents being smuggled into the West. Leitch dropped out of John Wick: Chapter 2, the recent sequel to the 2014 film, to focus entirely on Atomic Blonde.
Between the announcement, filming and the movie’s debut — set to occur next week at South by South West (SXSW) in Austin, Texas — there hasn’t been too much information released about the movie. All of which may be why this is the first time people may be hearing about it.
Today, Focus Features released the first trailer for the film, which explores the type of combat Theron’s Broughton will be involved in and the overall tone of the movie. It shares many of its qualities with John Wick, as seen through the level of violence in the three-minute trailer and the well-choreographed fight scenes.
Atomic Blonde will premiere at SXSW on March 12. It will be released to the general public on July 28.