If you've been missing the MCU, what with Black Widow getting delayed, Netflix has something for you to watch in the meantime. The Russo Brothers have shared the poster for their new production Extraction, starring Chris Hemsworth in the lead role, directed by Sam Hargrave, releasing on Netflix on 24th April.
The poster puts one of the most recognizable faces from the MCU front and center, as Chris Hemsworth, in full army gear, kneels broodingly in the middle of what appears to be a military shoot out. Fans who are used to seeing Hemsworth as the long-haired, hammer-wielding god of thunder will find his new short-haired military look a refreshing change.
From what we know so far, the Netflix original has Hemsworth playing Tyler Rake, a black market mercenary who is assigned his most dangerous mission yet. An imprisoned crime lord wants Rake to rescue his son from a kidnapping.
This sets Rake on a journey through the international underbelly of crime with his young charge at his side, where Rake finds his world-weary attitude challenged by the boy. The movie brings together an impressive cast, including David Harbour, Golshifteh Farahani, Derek Luke, and Rudraksha Jaiswal.
Extraction's director Sam Hargrave is making his feature film debut after a long and distinguished career in the Hollywood stunt world. He was the leading fight choreographer on Avengers: Endgame, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, both of whom are widely considered to have the best action scenes in the whole of the MCU.
In these troubled times for movie theaters, streaming giants have managed to escape the impact that social quarantines have had around the world on box office collections, and in fact, Netflix and other major streaming platforms have seen a record number of subscriptions as bored audiences locked inside their houses turn to the internet for entertainment.
With Extraction, Chris Hemsworth has taken one more significant step away from the MCU, towards establishing himself as a solo leading man. The actor's other recent roles that are not Thor have usually been ensemble movies. He played the dim-witted secretary to the Ghostbusters in the 2016 reboot, in a star-studded cast that included Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig. He also headlined the Men in Black reboot with co-lead Tessa Thompson and featured as a charismatic cult leader in Bad Times at the El Royale.
Aside from having to share the lead spotlight with other actors, none of the films were well-received by critics, nor did they make much of an impact at the box office. This follows the trend of MCU actors struggling to find the same level of success in outside projects, the most recent example being Doctor Dolittle featuring ex-Iron Man Robert Downey Jr.
With such disappointing results, there is little wonder in Hemsworth opting for a Netflix project which teams him up with the talents of the Russo Brothers and Hargrave, all three of whom have a track record in making well-received, lucrative action films.
