Ethan Hawke (Black Phone) and Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean) are officially heading into the heart of the Amazon. According to Variety, the two A-listers are set to lead the upcoming jungle thriller The Last of the Tribe.
Directed by Claudio Borrelli, the film is based on the 2010 non-fiction book by investigative journalist Monte Reel. It’s being adapted for the screen by Mark Bailey (Downfall: The Case Against Boeing).
A Corporate Hitman in the Rainforest
The film stars Ethan Hawke as William Phelan. He’s a former Chicago cop who swaps the badge for a paycheck as a corporate mercenary. Phelan is sent deep into the rainforest to investigate a death. However, his mission takes a sharp turn when he meets the last surviving member of a secluded Indigenous tribe.
Joining Hawke and Bloom is Indigenous Brazilian activist and actress Zaya Guarani, adding a layer of authenticity to a story that addresses the real and urgent destruction of the Amazon and its people.
A Powerhouse Creative Team
The talent behind the camera is just as impressive as the faces in front of it. Edward Saxon, the Oscar-winning producer of The Silence of the Lambs, will serve as producer of the film. Steve and Paula Mae Schwartz (Chockstone Pictures), Ethan and Ryan Hawke, and Fernando Meirelles (City of God) executive produce.
“Villain and Savior”
Director Claudio Borrelli isn’t just making a survival movie; he’s aiming to capture the rainforest’s “raw and the rugged” nature. He describes the setting as both a “villain and a savior,” focusing on the eternal conflict between man and nature.
The producers describe it as an “old-school heart-pounding ride.” It addresses timely themes like environmental collapse without losing the tension of a high-stakes thriller. As Protagonist CEO Dave Bishop put it, the movie pairs “elevated genre storytelling with urgent contemporary themes.”
The Last of the Tribe is currently heading to the European Film Market in Berlin to find its distributors, so expect to hear more about a release date soon!
