Netflix wins bidding war for Dev Patel's directorial debut

Dev Patel's directing dreams have been given a big boost - Netflix bosses have snapped up his debut, Monkey Man, as part of a $30 million (£21.5 million) deal.

Filming recently wrapped on the movie, in which Slumdog Millionaire star Patel will portray a convict seeking revenge on the people who put him behind bars.

The thriller, co-starring District 9 star Sharlto Copley and Indian actor Sikander Kher, became part of a big bidding war at last week's virtual European Film Market.

Patel wrote the script with Paul Angunawela and his Hotel Mumbai collaborator John Collee.

"I'm so thrilled to be partnering with Netflix on this adventure. I hope this will be a fresh addition to the genre at a time in this industry where my story can become our story," he told Deadline. "Shooting a film during a pandemic has been quite challenging to say the least, but the opportunity to reimagine stories from my childhood and infuse them with my love of action cinema has been an absolute joy."

The film was due to shoot in India last year but relocated to Indonesia due to the Covid-19 pandemic.