Apple TV+ Partners With Idris Elba on New Thriller ‘Hijack’

Apple Newsroom:

Apple TV+ today announced it has landed Hijack, a new seven-part thriller starring SAG-winning and Emmy Award-nominated Idris Elba (Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Luther), who will also serve as executive producer. This marks the first project that will hail from Elba’s first-look deal with Apple TV+ and his Green Door Pictures.

Told in real time, Hijack is a tense thriller that follows the journey of a hijacked plane as it makes its way to London over a seven hour flight, as authorities on the ground scramble for answers. Elba will star as Sam Nelson, an accomplished negotiator in the business world who needs to step up and use all his guile to try and save the lives of the passengers — but his high-risk strategy could be his undoing.

The “thriller in real time” thing has been done before. First one I remember as a new movie was 1995’s Nick of Time, starring Johnny Depp, and the best-known is surely the Kiefer Sutherland series 24. And then there’s Alfred Hitchcock’s 1948 classic Rope, which not only took place in real time but was staged and edited to create the illusion that it was shot in one continuous take.

But what really struck me about this announcement is that the first credit Apple listed for Idris Elba was Sonic the Hedgehog 2. I mean I get it — Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a huge hit and it’s very recent. But still, it’s Idris Elba — maybe list another serious role or two? The Wire, maybe? (At least they didn’t list Cats.)

★ Tuesday, 26 April 2022