‘Havoc’: Everything To Know So Far About Tom Hardy’s Long-Gestating Netflix Action Movie From A ‘Gangs Of London’ Co-Creator

Tom Hardy recently finished throwing down his hip-hop inspired Venom voice, and he’s been going straight-up gangster in the aftermath. This immediate future might or might not include a pit stop in the upcoming Peaky Blinders movie, but Hardy is imminently starring in Guy Ritchie’s MobLand series for Paramount Plus. Additionally, he will be wreaking Havoc in a film of the same name for Netflix. It’s been a relatively long ride for this movie to arrive, so let’s get down to business on what to expect.

Plot

Does four years seem like a long time for an action movie intended for Netflix to gestate after securing its leading man? Perhaps. The Hollywood strikes probably contributed to the process, but in early 2021, Deadline reported that the streaming service and Gareth Evans entered into “an exclusive deal” for the Apostle and (more importantly) The Raid franchise director to both direct and produce projects. And at that time, Havoc was set with Tom Hardy already confirmed to star. Further, the Netflix-Evans deal was said to be in the works “for some time but wanted to make sure Hardy was locked up as they saw this as the first project to unveil under the deal.”

Havoc was also written by Evans with the project originally being described as the aftermath of a botched drug deal, and Hardy doesn’t portray a gangster here, but as a jaded detective, he certainly tangles with those underworld figures. With a 105-minute runtime, Havoc is described as “a high octane action thriller” with a malevolent Timothy Olyphant included as a bonus. In other words, it’s everything that you’d expect from the continued career of The Raid franchise filmmaker. From the synopsis:

Walker (Tom Hardy) is a bruised detective fighting his way through the criminal underworld threatening to engulf his entire city. In the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong, Walker finds himself with a number of factions on his tail; a vengeful crime syndicate, a crooked politician, as well as his fellow cops. When attempting to rescue the politician’s estranged son, whose involvement in the drug deal starts to unravel a deep web of corruption and conspiracy, he is forced to confront the demons of his past.

Evans is also a co-creator of AMC’s Gangs Of London, which is a highly recommended watch while the wait for Havoc winds down.

Cast

In addition to Hardy and Olyphant, Havoc co-stars Forest Whitaker, Luis Guzmán, Jessie Mei Li, Justin Cornwell, Quelin Sepulveda, Jim Caesar, Xelia Mendes-Jones, Michelle Waterson, Sunny Pang, and Yeo Yann Yann.

Trailer

This teaser contains enough blink-and-you’ll-miss-it action to make heads spin, but Hardy and Olyphant are both giving their best anti-bromance faces. Win win all around.