Using the comeback cred that Hacksaw Ridge brought him, Mel Gibson‘s first announced follow-up project was the unexpected Daddy’s Home 2, but thankfully something a little more in his wheelhouse has now been revealed. It was announced today that he’ll be re-teaming with his Hacksaw Ridge star Vince Vaughn, who himself will be re-teaming with director S. Craig Zahler for the eye-catching Dragged Across Concrete.
Also scripted by the Bone Tomahawk director, who shot Brawl in Cell Block 99 with Vaughn last year, this new film follows the duo as cop partners who get suspended after a bout of police brutality, so they enter the criminal underworld for revenge. “Dragged Across Concrete is best suited to my goal of making a heartfelt, surprising, sad, funny, shocking, and memorable world with multiple viewpoints,” Zahler says. “As is often the case in my novels and screenplays, the protagonists are in perilous circumstances against which they struggle in different and surprising—though logical—ways. I am absolutely thrilled to have Mel and Vince agree to play the lead roles.”
Considering how brutal and well-scripted Zahler’s western was, hopefully he brings this same level of intensity to his next projects. As we await more updates, check out the full synopsis below along with an hour-long talk with Gibson.
A stolid, old guard policeman, Ridgeman (Gibson) and his volatile younger partner, Anthony (Vaughn), find themselves suspended when a video of their strong-arming tactics become the media’s special du jour. Low on cash and with no other options, these two embittered soldiers descend into the criminal underworld to gain their just due, but instead find far more than they wanted awaiting them in the shadows.