Beast: Idris Elba signs a new film with Universal Pictures

Actor Idris Elba is set to feature in Beast, a survival thriller to be directed by Baltasar Kormakur.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Universal Pictures' project is based on an original idea by Jaime Primak-Sullivan. Ryan Engle, who worked on the Dwayne Johnson-starrer Rampage, has penned the script.

The story details are being kept under the wraps, but it is described to be in a similar vein to The Shallows. While the 2016 survival thriller saw Blake Lively as a surfer stalked by a shark, Beast will feature a lion as the predatory antagonist.

Will Packer and James Lopez will produce the upcoming film through their Will Packer Productions.

Kormakur, known for making survival thrillers like Iceland's Oscar 2013 entry The Deep, Everest, and Adrift, will produce through his RVK Studios. Primak-Sullivan will also executive produce