'Whiplash' Producer Bold Films Developing Superhero Movie 'Samaritan'

Bold Films, which produced "Nightcrawler" and "Whiplash", is developing the superhero project "Samaritan," written by Bragi F. Schut. Bold has come on board to produce and finance "Samaritan" with Bold chairman Michael Litvak and senior VP Jonathan Oakes as the producers. CEO Gary Michael Walters will executive produce.

"Samaritan" takes place 20 years after an epic battle between a super villain and a superhero left the villain dead and the hero missing. The story is centered on a young boy befriending an old man who he believes is the superhero in hiding.

Bold is in pre-production on "Stronger," starring Jake Gyllenhaal and based on the hunt for the 2013 Boston Marathon bombers. The company came on board last month to produce and finance the project, based on the book by bombing survivor Jeff Bauman, who lost both legs in the attack.

Bold previously teamed with Gyllenhaal on 2014's "Nightcrawler." Gyllenhaal signed a first-look deal with Bold Films in August to launch his Nine Stories production banner. Schut created the 2005 CBS science-fiction series "Threshold" and wrote the fantasy actioner "Season of the Witch," starring Ron Perlman and Nicolas Cage. He's repped by Verve and Realm Entertainment. The news was first reported by the Tracking Board.