Netflix and Lionsgate are teaming on Fairytale in New York, a new action thriller starring Aaron Pierre and directed by Sisu filmmaker Jalmari Helander, Deadline reports exclusively. Netflix will distribute the film, with Lionsgate producing, following a competitive auction that insiders say made Netflix the best fit for the project.
Based on an original spec script by Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani, the film is set on Christmas Eve in New York City, following an unassuming cabbie who embarks on a relentless night of vengeance after his estranged son’s priceless gift is stolen. Beau Flynn produces for FlynnPictureCo, alongside Kevin King Templeton for Templeton Media, with Haines, Noshirvani, and Scott Sheldon of FlynnPictureCo. executive producing.
The project reunites Helander with Lionsgate, which released both Sisu films, and with Haines and Noshirvani, who also wrote Helander’s upcoming John Rambo prequel starring Noah Centineo, set to open June 4, 2027. Lionsgate Motion Group President Erin Westerman called it the studio’s third collaboration with Helander, praising his ability to deliver visceral action without losing sight of character and emotion, and described Pierre as a strong match for the director given his screen presence and emotional range. Westerman also pointed to the studio’s recent success with War Machine on Netflix as motivation for continuing the partnership.
Pierre is coming off a major year, starring as John Stewart alongside Kyle Chandler in HBO’s Lanterns, one of the network’s biggest dramas of 2026, and appearing in Amazon MGM’s Love of Your Life, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. He’s set for an even bigger 2027, reprising John Stewart in DC Studios’ Man of Tomorrow and appearing alongside Ryan Gosling in Star Wars: Starfighter, opening next May.
With Netflix and Lionsgate rebuilding on the momentum of War Machine while reuniting Helander with the same writers behind his Rambo prequel, Fairytale in New York arrives as a calculated bet on a proven creative team rather than a standalone gamble.