Alan Ritchson to lead new Netflix MotoGP heist movie
Hollywood actor, Alan Ritchson, is swapping his Reacher-sized presence for two wheels as he prepares to star in a new Netflix movie set in the world of MotoGP.
The untitled project is being developed as a heist thriller, with Ritchson set to star and produce through his Dancing Skeleton production company. It will be the first project under a new creative partnership between Ritchson and Netflix.
And if “Fast & Furious with motorcycles” sounds like something that belongs on a Hollywood pitch meeting whiteboard, that is reportedly not far from how the project was presented.
The screenplay will be written by Chris Morgan, one of the key writers behind the Fast & Furious franchise. Morgan wrote seven films in the series, starting with The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift*, and later working on Fast Five, and several others. He also co-wrote the screenplay for the movie 47 Ronin, starring Keanu Reeves and Hiroyuki Sanada.
Still, this isn’t simply a case of swapping cars for MotoGP bikes.
According to reports, the story follows a crew of motorcycle thieves who travel around the world stealing priceless antiquities. Interpol then recruits Ritchson’s character, a former MotoGP prodigy, to track them down.
Things get personal when he discovers that the gang’s leader could be his younger brother, who was believed to have died years earlier.
Perhaps the most interesting part for motorcycle fans is that MotoGP itself is involved in the project. MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group has signed an agreement to support the film and advise the production during its development.
That could give the filmmakers access to the championship’s world and, hopefully, help them get the racing side of the story closer to reality. Hollywood has already shown that motorcycle racing can look spectacular on screen. Getting the actual racing details right, however, is a different matter.
Ritchson is best known to action fans as Jack Reacher in the Amazon series Reacher. He also appeared as Aimes in Fast X, giving him an existing connection to the franchise whose DNA is apparently being carried over into this project.
His latest Netflix project, War Machine, also helped pave the way for his new partnership with the streaming giant.
Beyond that, there is still plenty we don’t know. The movie doesn’t have an official title, release date or announced director yet, while production details and the rest of the cast remain under wraps.
For now, we know there’s a former MotoGP prodigy, a motorcycle theft ring, priceless antiquities, Interpol, a presumed-dead brother and the writer who helped turn Fast & Furious into a global action franchise.
There is, however, one question motorcycle fans are probably already asking.
How exactly are they going to make Alan Ritchson, a man built like Reacher, who’s basically a tank, look convincing as a former MotoGP prodigy? Real MotoGP riders are typically slim and lightweight. Ritchson, meanwhile, is roughly the size of three or four of them.
Getting him into a MotoGP leather suit might be the easiest part. Making him look like he belongs on the bike could be the real Hollywood magic.
