By: John M Jerva

Deadline has just dropped the 411 that Voltage Pictures and McG’s Wonderland are readying a new assasson themed action-thriller named Guardian and that the first ever female female award winning stunt coordinator Shauna Duggins will helm the film. Duggin’s, who won the emmy for the hit Netflix series Glow, will direct from a script wriien by  Cory Byam (The Temp Agency).

Guardian “tells the multi-layered story of a top assassin who becomes the reluctant guardian for the son of the last man he killed – entangling himself in a mob power struggle and an unexpected crisis of conscience. The project is described to be in the spirit of The Professional and Man on Fire.”

It is also being reported that Duggin’s long-time collaborator Brian Machleit will have an active role in the making of the film and Duggins made a statement in regards to Machleit. “My partner Brian and I are excited to take our collaboration with McG to the next level on Guardian, a film that explores the unlikely bond between an assassin and the child he’s grudgingly sworn to protect through a journey jam packed with groundbreaking action and heart wrenching emotion. We couldn’t be happier to be working with the prolific team of Voltage and Wonderland.”

McG will produce the film along with Mary Viola via his Wonderland production banner along with Voltage’s Chartier and Dominic Rustam.  In relation to the new project, Chatier said, “Shauna is an incredible artist who has been instrumental in giving some of film and television’s most popular female action heroes their kick-ass skills on screen,” said Chartier. “The time is right for her to move into the directing chair and we can think of no other filmmaker who has the action chops to deliver Guardian as the powerhouse, don’t forget to breathe rollercoaster. We’re thrilled to support her directorial debut alongside our friends at Wonderland, who share our commitment to working with female filmmakers at all stages along the production pipeline.”

McG was also quoted as saying “Shauna has a unique vision on both the story and the action for this film. We are delighted to be a part of her well-deserved ascension to the director chair.”

The only thing going againt this film is that recently, the assassin with a heart plot line has been done a lot and I do mean a lot so it will be interesting to see how this one is handled. I’m a fan for plot retreads as long as the action is top tier and the characters are worth it. Duggins brings some serious A game when it comes to action and stunts so she is more than capable in delivering a product that will electrify the action masses. Stay tuned for more to come in terms of casting!