Stapleton To Star In THE LAKE, Quale To Direct

With his appearance looming in the final season of the hit Cinemax series, Strike Back, actor Sullivan Stapleton is certainly showing no end to his current career progress as an action star. His role in last year's 300: Rise Of An Empire is a fair example of this and that has since caught the attention of EuropaCorp's Luc Besson and Christophe Lambert in lieu of their latest North American distribution arm, RED.

On that note, Deadline reports that the two are preparing to kick off a new action production with Stapleton leading as the first of their initiative with The Lake. Details on the cast are currently pending but the film will have Into The Storm helmer Steven Quale directing from a script by The Equalizer scribe Richard Wenk which tells of a group of Navy SEALs in war-torn Serbia who set out to solve an ancient mystery while searching for treasure buried deep underwater.

Filming is expected to commense in April while Stapleton's next theatrical appearance in the darkly comedic assassin flick, Kill Me Three Times on April 10 after its VOD release later this month from Magnet Releasing. The actor is also poised to make and his latest addition to the NBC pilot, Blindspot later this year as well.