Heads of State starring John Cena, Idris Elba to be directed by Ilya Naishuller

Ilya Naishuller, who is best known for directing the Bob Odenkirk-led action film Nobody, is reportedly directing Amazon Prime Video’s upcoming film starring John Cena and Idris Elba in the lead. According to reports, executives at Amazon had reportedly selected the project after hearing a presentation of the film back in 2020.

Peter Safran, who was recently announced as the co-chair and co-CEO of DC Studios along with director James Gunn, will produce Heads of State under his banner The Safran Company. The makers are being tight-lipped about the project but reports suggest that the pitch for the film was reportedly made as Air Force One meets Midnight Run.

Harrison Query, best known for writing My Wife and I Bought a Ranch, had written the earlier version of the film while Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec were later brought on board to write the latest version of the film. Appelbaum and Nemec wrote the recently wrapped Beverly Hills Cop reboot. 

Director  Ilya Naishuller shot to international fame after making the Russian Indie action film Hardcore Henry. The adrenaline-packed action film was noted for being shot entirely in the first person and was cleverly edited to look like a single-shot film.