Idris Elba is taking to the skies with Apple TV+.
Elba will star in and executive produce Hijack, a thriller set aboard a hijacked airplane. The limited series, which received a straight to series order from Apple TV+, is the first project to result from a first-look deal Elba and his Green Door Pictures signed with the tech giant in 2020.
George Kay (Netflix’s Lupin) is writing the series, and Jim Field Smith (Criminal, The Wrong Mans) is attached to direct.
Hijack will be told in real time as a hijacked flight makes a seven-hour journey toward London and authorities on the ground search for answers. Elba will play Sam Nelson, an accomplished negotiator in the business world who tries to step up and use all his guile to save the lives of the passengers. His high-risk strategy, however, could prove his undoing.
The series comes from 60Forty Films and Kay and Smith’s Idiotlamp Productions in association with Green Door. Elba, Kay and Smith will executive produce with Jamie Laurenson and Hakan Kousetta of 60Forty and Kris Thykier.
Elba broke out in the United States with his role on HBO’s The Wire. His credits also include voice work on Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Netflix’s The Harder They Fall and Turn Up Charlie, and the BBC’s Luther — which is getting a feature film continuation at Netflix. He is repped by The Artists Partnership, WME, M88, The Lede Company and JSSK.
