Film director Atom Egoyan will be directing one of Hollywood's most sought-after leading man in his new psychological thriller Queen of the Night, distributor Entertainment One announced Wednesday.
In the film, Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds will play a father hunting for a teenage daughter abducted eight years previously. The script is based on an original story by Egoyan and written by Egoyan and David Fraser. The film will be co-produced by Ego Film Arts and The Film Farm, and will start principal photography next February in southern Ontario.
Reynolds will play a father convinced by a series of disturbing clues that his kidnapped daughter, now 17, remains alive.
In a statement, Egoyan said he was excited at the prospect of working with Reynolds: "The richness of his performances in such diverse films as Buried, Safe House and romantic fare such as The Proposal is extraordinary."
In 2010's Buried, Reynolds played an American truck driver buried alive in Iraq; this year, in Safe House, he played a CIA agent on the run with a fugitive he is supposed to protect.
Kate Taylor