Michael Dowse will helm the feature film adaptation of the bestselling video game “Just Cause”. Dowse has recently directed the Netflix feature Coffee & Kareem and Stuber. Constantin Film and Prime Universe are together producing this film.
The film will follow the video game story, where Rico Rodriguez is on a race-against-time mission to stop the mercenary group The Black Hand. The series draws its name from the real-life United States invasion of Panama, code-named “Operation Just Cause.” There will be a female co-lead giving Just Cause a Romancing The Stone Vibe.
Just Cause begins with Rico Rodriguez, an operative for an organization known as the Agency, being dropped into a Caribbean tropical island called San Esperito, after being called there by his commanding officer, Tom Sheldon, to help overthrow San Esperito's dictator, Salvador Mendoza, whom the Agency believes to be in possession of weapons of mass destruction. After his arrival, Rico meets up with Sheldon and fellow agent Maria Kane, and they ally themselves with a guerrilla group staging a rebellion against the regime and the Rioja drug cartel, another enemy of the government. Rico assists them in their civil war against Mendoza's corrupt officials; Black Hand mercenaries and the Montano cartel. Rico can also assist in the liberation of various territories to further destabilize the government's rule over the island.
Rodriguez (aka “The Scorpion”) has become one of the few Latino iconic video game characters. He has a signature “agent of chaos” approach to taking down the bad guys.
Derek Kolstad is penning the script with Robert Kulzer from Constantin Film producing along side Prime Universe Film’s Adrian Askarieh, and Kolstad.
Constantin’s Martin Moszkowicz. and Square Enix will be the executive producers and Constantins Alex Westmore and Colin Scully are overseeing.
Derek Kolstad previous works includes Keanu Reeves starring John Wick trilogy where he wrote the script.
Constantin Films’ made the Resident Evil franchise, Monster Hunter and the TV series Shadowhunters — The Mortal Instruments.