Mathieu Kassovitz has made the decision to leave the television series adaptation of “Paris Has Fallen” due to creative differences. StudioCanal, the production company, has announced that Kassovitz will be replaced by Tewfik Jallab, known for his work on “Spiral”. This news comes as StudioCanal releases first-look images from the series, which is currently being filmed in London and Paris.
The eight-part drama is a collaboration between StudioCanal, Urban Myth Films (known for producing “War of the Worlds”), Millennium Media, G-Base (Butler’s production company), and Eclectic Pictures. The show is based on Gerard Butler’s “Has Fallen” film franchise.
Kassovitz, famous for directing the 1995 film “La Haine”, had previously been involved in a motorbike accident. However, his departure from “Paris Has Fallen” was not related to his recovery. The role that Kassovitz was supposed to play, Vincent Taleb, a protection officer to a French Minister, will now be played by Tewfik Jallab. The storyline revolves around Taleb and MI6 operative Zara, played by Ritu Arya, as they work together to protect the French Minister from a terror group led by the villain Jacob.
While the series features an all-star cast including Sean Harris, Ana Ularu, Camille Rutherford, Jérémie Covillault, Emmanuelle Bercot, and Karl Collins, Butler, who played the lead role in the film franchise, is not officially attached to the TV adaptation. It is important to note that Butler and the producers of “Olympus Has Fallen” recently settled a lawsuit over the profits from the 2013 film, with Butler receiving $10 million.
“Paris Has Fallen” will be produced by Johnny Capps, Julian Murphy, and Howard Overman for Urban Myth Films. G-Base will be represented by Butler and Alan Siegel, while Millennium Media will have Avi Lerner, Jeffrey Greenstein, Jonathan Yunger, and Yariv Lerner as their representatives. Lati Grobman is also an Executive Producer on the series.
The show is written by Howard Overman, and the lead directing duties will be shared by Oded Ruskin and Hans Herbots. Ruskin will also serve as an Executive Producer.
The series has already secured distribution deals with Canal+ in France, ZDF in Germany, Canal+ International in Poland and Africa, and M7 in Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic, and Slovakia. StudioCanal is currently in the process of shopping the series to buyers in the U.S. and the UK.
The “Has Fallen” film franchise has already released three successful films – “Olympus Has Fallen” (2013), “London Has Fallen” (2016), and “Angel Has Fallen” (2019) – which collectively earned over $500 million worldwide. A fourth film, “Night Has Fallen”, is also in development.
