Kathryn Bigelow's Untitled White House Thriller to Hit Fall Fests

I’m told that Kathryn Bigelow’s next film, set up at Netflix, is gearing up to hit the fall fests in September and October. This could mean a bow at Telluride, Venice, and/or TIFF.

Bigelow directs what is being dubbed as a “hot script” by former NBC News president Noah Oppenheim (he also wrote “Jackie”). The still-untitled film will tackle how the White House reacts in real time to ballistic missiles headed for America.

Bigelow was supposed to direct “Aurora” for Netflix last year, but the New York Times reported that the filmmaker dropped out of the project due to budgetary constraints. She then went back to the streaming giant with another project, and this time around it was met with approval.

This latest film, which has been dubbed by the trades as “Untitled White House Thriller,” has an ensemble that includes the likes of Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris, Greta Lee, Tracy Letts, Moses Ingram, Anthony Ramos, Brian Tee, Jonah Hauer-King, Kyle Allen, and Jason Clarke.

It’s been eight years since Bigelow released her last film, 2017’s “Detroit.” It garnered a mixed reception upon release. I liked most of “Detroit,” the first 2/3 was fairly gripping, but that last stretch, which had the film morphing more into a courtroom drama, didn’t work for me.

Bigelow, 73, is the filmmaker behind such films as “The Hurt Locker,” “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Near Dark,” “Point Break,” and the highly underrated “Strange Days.” She was one of the hottest filmmakers in the aughts, having directed two Best Picture nominees, and having won the Best Director Oscar for “The Hurt Locker.”

Let’s hope her Netflix film is the comeback vehicle she’s been waiting for.