Can we ever get enough of spies? From Amazon’s big-budget Citadel which debuted this year, to period espionage thrillers A Spy Among Friends and The Ipcress File, there’s no shortage of exhilarating spy action out there.

Netflix is looking to make the next big espionage franchise with their new film Heart of Stone, which stars Gal Gadot as an intelligence agent being drawn into an international conspiracy. It’s finally set to land this week on 11th August and co-stars Jamie Dornan and Alia Bhatt.

What is Heart of Stone about?

Gal Gadot already starred in Netflix’s action-comedy Red Notice, but Heart of Stone looks to be taking things up a notch. Netflix is reportedly keen on kickstarting a new action franchise and for Rachel Stone (Gadot) to become an agent that can stand against Mission Impossible’s Ethan Hunt and even 007 himself. Whether it’ll measure up to those lofty heights remains to be seen, but it certainly looks like it’s got the budget.

We don’t know a huge amount about who Rachel Stone is (which makes sense given she’s a spy) but Gadot wanted the character to be a bit more think first, shoot later than some other secret agents: “I wanted her to be able to use her brain, intuition and emotions… … She doesn’t just run in, guns blazing. She thinks about how she’s affecting people and situations.”

What else do we know?

So, we’ve got our spy hero, but what is she up against? The answer is a renegade tech genius who seeks to acquire a dangerous piece of tech known as “The Heart”, and use it to wreak havoc.

Stone is part of a mission to ensure that The Heart doesn’t fall into the wrong hands, but finds that there are more enemies out there than she realises. The Heart is controlled by Stone’s spy agency the Charter, but is vulnerable to attack. The device itself is apparently a “super AI” that’s connected to a quantum computer and can track anyone and everyone, as well as predict their future actions.

Who else stars?

Rachel Stone isn’t alone in her mission, and one of her partners in the operation is an MI6 agent, Parker, who’s played by Jamie Dornan. He’s the one who explains that owning The Heart means “owning the world”, as we see in Heart of Stone’s official trailer.

Meanwhile, Alia Bhatt is set to play Keya Dhawan, the mysterious villain who’s intent on taking The Heart for herself, and German actor Matthias Scheighöfer stars as a character known as “Jack of Hearts”. Sophie Okonedo, Jing Lusi and Paul Ready also star, with Peaky Blinders and War & Peace’s Tom Harper in the director’s chair.

When will it be released?

Heart of Stone lands on Netflix on Friday 11th August 2023.

Culture

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