Daniel MacPherson Joins Russell Crowe and Priyanka Chopra Jonas in Sci-Fi Thriller 'Bluefly'

Daniel MacPherson has joined the cast of "Bluefly," the science-fiction action thriller toplined by Russell Crowe and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. The casting, confirmed exclusively, reunites MacPherson with Crowe after their stint together in "Beast," the mixed martial arts action film.

"Predators" filmmaker Nimród Antal directs.

Who is MacPherson playing?

MacPherson will play Dugan, a Special Forces soldier toughened by years of combat. He joins the film's two leads in a story that unfolds in the Congo. Chopra Jonas plays a U.N. translator, still mourning a loss, who gets pulled into a secret operation to retrieve an enigmatic aircraft that has gone down.

Dugan is a familiar shape for MacPherson. The actor has spent a career playing men in helmets and hard situations — the casting office clearly wasn't gambling.

Who wrote the script and who's producing?

The script comes from David Frigerio ("Beast"), William Eubank ("Underwater") and Carlyle Eubank ("Muzzle"). The deal brings MacPherson back together with both Crowe and Frigerio following "Beast," in which the two actors shared the screen and which Frigerio wrote.

Michael Jefferson produces through Polite Society, alongside:

• David Frigerio via Broken Open Pictures
• Deborah Glover of G2 Dispatch
• Highland Film Group's Arianne Fraser and Delphine Perrier
• Vanessa Yao Guo

Guy Davies, RuthAnne Frigerio, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Jason Kringstein, Katie Leary, Scott Levenson and James Norbury serve as executive producers.

Where and when does filming start?

Cameras are set to roll shortly on Australia's Gold Coast, where principal photography on the Congo-set story will take place. So the Congo will be built, at least in part, on Australian soundstages and coastline — a well-worn route for international productions chasing the Gold Coast's incentives and crew base.

What else has MacPherson done?

Beyond "Beast," his big-screen résumé includes "Land of Bad," "Poker Face," "A Wrinkle in Time," "The Osiris Child" and "Infini." His television work spans "Foundation," "Strike Back," "APB" and "The Shannara Chronicles" — a long track record in action and genre fare across both film and series.

MacPherson is represented by Entertainment 360, Buchwald and Benchmark Creative.

With cameras rolling shortly, "Bluefly" now has its leads, its soldier and its Congo. The next question is a release date, which nobody has volunteered yet.