MOVIE NEWS – Ukrainian filmmaker Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi will write and direct The Tiger, based on the non-fiction book by John Vaillant about a tiger with a vengeance.

Alexander Skarsgård and Dane DeHaan will star in The Tiger. The film is inspired by the gruesome true story of a man-eating tiger in 1990s Russia. Ukrainian filmmaker Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi, best known for his 2014 film The Tribe, writes and directs The Tiger, based on John Vaillant’s non-fiction novel. The film has been in the making for over a decade and was once directed by Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, Mom!) and starring Brad Pitt. Aronofsky is currently producing the film.

The official synopsis for The Tiger is as follows:

“Set in snowy Far Eastern Russia in the late 1990s, the feature follows a group of men – known as the Tiger Team – who work to protect endangered tigers from poachers and loggers. The story follows Vanzin (Skarsgård), the team leader, whose sense of duty is tested when he is tasked with hunting down and exterminating a tiger who has killed a poacher in self-defence. DeHaan will play Kanchuga, a young environmental scientist and the newest team member.”

Darren Aronofsky is producing The Tiger for Protozoa Pictures alongside Plan B and Wild Bunch AG, and the film will be released at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival. Aronofsky released a statement saying,

“As a producer, I’ve wanted to do two things for some time: one is to make this film, and the other is to work with the genius auteur that is Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi. I’m really excited to be involved in a project that allows me to do both, and I can’t wait to bring this story to the world.”

Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi made his debut with 2014’s The Tribe, a film about a deaf teenager who is drawn to crime and prostitution. The film was told entirely in Ukrainian Sign Language and was screened at the Cannes Film Festival. Slaboshpytskyi is now returning to feature films and couldn’t be more excited about working with Hollywood A-listers Darren Aronofsky, Alexander Skarsgård and Dane DeHaan.

“I’m so excited to be making this film, and I’m overwhelmed with admiration for the team that has lined up behind it. I have been working on The Tiger story for a very long time and the opportunity to make it happen is a dream come true. Darren is a unique taste and talent producer, and Alexander and Dane are one-time stars. I couldn’t imagine a better or more brilliant team to work with.”

Although the synopsis for The Tiger doesn’t give much away and seems like one of many generic men vs beast films, it is actually based on a theme that is quite poignant and much deeper. What should be a spoiler is that the tiger in question killed the poacher not in self-defence but out of revenge. After the poacher, Vladimir Markov wounded the tiger and stole his prey, the hungry and injured beast followed Markov to his hut and waited for two days before killing and devouring Markov.

Tiger also delves into the moral conflicts experienced by Skarsgård and DeHaan’s characters. The leader of an anti-poaching squad and a conservationist tasked with hunting the animal he was previously protecting will make for an incredible drama. There is no word yet on a release date for The Tiger, but stay tuned for more news.

For now, you can see Alexander Skarsgård in the Viking revenge saga The Northman. Directed by Robert Eggers, the film will hit cinemas in Hungary next week, but it’s already available abroad on several video on demand and streaming sites. Dane DeHaan can currently be seen in the HBO Max crime series The Staircase. DeHaan will next appear in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.

Source: Deadline