Adria Arjona, who appeared opposite Glen Powell in Netflix’s Hit Man, is in final negotiations to star in and executive produce Onslaught, the latest feature project from Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire filmmaker Adam Wingard.
A24 is behind the action thriller after winning an auction in the spring. It reteams Wingard with his frequent collaborator Simon Barrett. The two made the cult hits You’re Next and The Guest.
Wingard and Barrett are writing the project, with Wingard to be in the director’s seat when cameras roll in New Mexico later this year.
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Many details for Onslaught are being kept in an underground experimental facility, but sources describe it as a gonzo action horror thriller. The scope is said to more in line with Wingard’s earlier movies, which were all original creations, before he went off and made the big-budget spectacle hits Godzilla vs Kong and Godzilla x Kong.
According to sources, Arjona will play a mother who falls back on a particular set of skills in order to protect her loved ones after she runs afoul of a threat that has escaped a secret military base.
Aaron Ryder and Andrew Swett will produce Onslaught under their Ryder Picture Company banner alongside A24, and Alexander Black for Lyrical Media. Wingard and manager Jeremy Platt will also produce, via their new shingle Breakaway Civilization, along with Barrett.
Lyrical and A24 will co-finance. Lyrical’s Jon Rosenberg and Natalie Sellers will serve as executive producers with A24.
The part could be a boon for Arjona as Wingard has a knack for showcasing strong female characters, as seen in You’re Next and The Guest, the latter which was a breakthrough for Longlegs star Maika Monroe.
Arjona earned strong notices for her work opposite Powell in the seductive and charming Hit Man, which debuted on Netflix in June. Most recently, she appeared in Zoe Kravitz’s directorial debut Blink Twice, and will be back for season two of Andor, the acclaimed Star Wars show that stars Diego Luna. Andor returns in 2025.
The actress also stars in and executive produced Los Frikis, an indie drama set in Cuba in the early 1990s. The movie has won several awards on the festival circuit, including the Marimbas award at the Miami International Film Festival.
Arjona is repped by CAA, Anonymous Content and Goodman Genow.
