EXCLUSIVE: Lana Condor (To All the Boys films), Desmin Borges (The Time Traveler’s Wife) and Callan Mulvey (The Gray Man) have signed on to star alongside Chase Stokes in Monarch Media’s thriller Valiant One, which goes into production in Vancouver later this month.
The first feature directed by Monarch’s Steve Barnett watches as a U.S. helicopter crashes on the North Korean side of the DMZ. With tensions between the North and South already on the verge of war, the surviving U.S. Army non-combat tech soldiers must work together to protect a civilian tech-specialist and find their way across the DMZ, without the possibility of U.S. military support.
Condor will play Selby, a hard-as-nails and highly capable, but very inexperienced Medic Specialist, who joined the U.S. military after becoming a citizen to give back to her new homeland. Borges is set for the role of Josh Weaver, a civilian defense contractor, cocky with enough smarts to back it up, and obnoxious until the weight of the danger settles in on him and he becomes part of the team. Mulvey will portray Chris Lebold the square-jawed Delta Operative and poster child for American heroic iconography, who’s in a heap of trouble and pain when the team crashes but remains a leader throughout.
Eric Tipton wrote the script, which is based on an original idea by Barnett. Bernie Goldmann will produce alongside Monarch principals Barnett and Alan Powell, with Monarch principal Vicky L. Patel serving as executive producer.
Condor is best known for her starring role as Lara Jean in Netflix’s hit YA romance trilogy To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, having more recently starred opposite Cole Sprouse in HBO Max’s sci-fi rom-com, Moonshoot. Other notable credits on the part of the actress include Robert Rodriguez’s Alita: Battle Angel, Peter Berg’s Patriots Day, X-Men: Apocalypse and BoJack Horseman.
Borges is best known for turns on such series as The Time Traveler’s Wife (HBO), Welcome to Flatch (Fox), Utopia (Prime Video) and You’re the Worst (FX), having received an Imagen Award nominaton for his work on the latter. He’s also previously appeared in films including Private Life, Never Here, Carrie Pilby, Gabriel, All Is Bright and Compliance, among others. Also coming up for the actor is Lionsgate’s action rom-com Shotgun Wedding, which has him starring alongside Jennifer Lopez, Josh Duhamel, D’Arcy Carden, Jennifer Coolidge and more.
Mulvey has previously been seen on such series as AMC+’s Firebite, BBC’s The Luminaries and Starz’s Power, to name a few. Notable film credits include The Gray Man, Shadow in the Cloud, Avengers: Endgame, Outlaw King, Warcraft, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, 300: Rise of an Empire and Zero Dark Thirty. The actor will next star opposite Oscar nominee Tim Roth in the Australian drama series Last King of the Cross, which will stream on Paramount+.
Condor is represented by CAA and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman; Borges by Gersh, Suskin/Karshan Management and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller; and Mulvey by Paradigm and Anonymous Content.
