Riz Ahmed & Lily James to Star in Thriller Feature 'Relay' from Director of 'Hell or High Water'

by Darian Scalamoni

    This is a project that is super exciting to me as the talent attached could make this the perfect blend for success. According to multiple outlets, Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) and Lily James (Baby Driver, Pam & Tommy) will star in the upcoming thriller Relay for director David Mackenzie (Hell or High Water, Outlaw King).

    The film stars Ahmed as Tom, a "fixer" a la Ray Donovan, whose specialty is arranging lucrative deals between corrupt corporations and the people who threaten their demise. Tom does a great job of keeping his identity a secret until one day, he gets a message from a potential client in James' character Sarah, who needs Tom's protection just to stay alive, throwing a wrench in Tom's plans. Mackenzie will also co-write the script for Relay with Justin Piasecki which sounds to be a surefire high-octane film for all involved. 

    Relay is set to begin filming in April in both New York and New Jersey, while its being sent out to buyers at the European Film Market. I think the assembly of creatives involved in this project make it one of my most anticipated films right now.

    Ahmed is best known for his Oscar-nominated turn in Sound of Metal, however, he's also worked within the galaxy far, far away in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and had an amazing Emmy-winning performance in HBO's The Night Of. Ahmed also won his first Oscar last year for Best Live Action Short Film with The Long Goodbye which he also co-wrote. He'll next lend his voice talents in the animated film Nimona and is amongst the cast of the sci-fi drama Fingernails with Jessie Buckley, Jeremy Allen White and Annie Murphy.

    James was recently nominated for an Emmy award for her performance as Pamela Anderson in Hulu's Pam & Tommy. James also has worked in films such as Edgar Wright's Baby Driver, Danny Boyle's Yesterday and the live-action version of Cinderella. She recently wrapped filming wrestling drama The Iron Claw for A24 and crime comedy film Providence co-starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. 

    Meanwhile, Mackenzie has directed an Oscar-nominee for Best Picture in 2016's crime flick Hell of High Water. He followed that up for Netflix's Outlaw King which told the story of Robert the Bruce and his battle against the English army. He most recently turned in a directorial effort for two episodes of FX's Mormon-based detective story Under the Banner of Heaven starring Andrew Garfield.