I’m a big fan of Jeremy Saulnier. His films are violent, yet he possesses a rare gift for staging brutality with unflinching precision, and tense atmosphere—you feel every shot, every stab, every impact. He is one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary genre cinema.
Saulnier is returning to Netflix, which won a bidding war for “Trigger Point,” starring Joel Edgerton, with a straight-to-series order. The action crime drama, picked up for eight episodes, was penned by writer Harrison Query (“Heads of State”). Saulnier, A24, and Joe Hipps are producing.
“Trigger Point” was acquired in a seven-way bidding war, landing at A24 in May with the intention for Saulnier to direct. It came down to Netflix and Apple TV, both making straight-to-series offers, with the package ultimately going to Netflix.
“Trigger Point” follows a crew of former Tier One Special Forces operators who’ve parlayed their elite skills into lucrative criminal work under the guise of a private military contracting firm — and the FBI agent determined to bring them down. Edgerton will play the lead, Red, an ex–Tier One operator–turned–criminal.
Edgerton, a stellar actor, is coming off the acclaimed “Train Dreams,” which started streaming on Netflix today. His most notable work can be found in films such as “Animal Kingdom,” “Warrior,” “Loving,” “The Gift,” and “Midnight Special.”
The announcement of a new Saulnier project is exciting news, though this time it’s a TV series. He recently wrapped A24’s “October,” starring Cory Michael Smith, described as a gritty, high-intensity chase thriller in the vein of “The Fugitive,” but infused with the raw, grounded energy that has become a hallmark of his work.
Saulnier’s 2014 breakout, “Blue Ruin,” remains one of the great modern indie thrillers, while 2016’s “Green Room”—a brutal neo-Nazi siege film—felt like an experimental horror movie in punk clothing. He’s coming off the immense straight-to-streaming success of “Rebel Ridge,” which featured a breakout turn from Aaron Pierre.*