Director of the high-stakes political thriller ‘G20’, Patricia Riggen, expresses her excitement about working with Indian talent, revealing dream casting plans for a potential sequel.
Filmmaker Patricia Riggen, known for her work on the hit series ‘Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan‘, is set to give the audience their dose of action and adrenaline with her latest film ‘G20’. Starring Oscar-winner Viola Davis in the lead, opposite TV’s favourite bad boy Anthony Starr, the high-stakes film set in the backdrop of the G20 global summit which spirals into chaos when world leaders are taken hostage.
In an exclusive interview with ETimes, Riggen shared her inspiration behind the politically charged action thriller. “The G20 is a very interesting event that has 20 countries, amongst them India, that get together. They’re the most powerful countries in the world,” she said and added, “We wanted to make a very big Hollywood movie… an action film that was fun. And what better way to do that than with a G20 summit overtaken by terrorists?”But ‘G20’ was never just about high-octane action. For Riggen, putting a powerful female figure at the centre of the chaos was equally important. “We don’t have many female action heroes. Viola Davis is one of the best actresses of our era,” she explained. “How cool is it to combine an action movie with such a phenomenal performer?”
In the film Viola Davis plays the President of the United States, a role Riggen was adamant should be a woman. When asked about her casting choice, “You’re asking me the most important question,” she said, and explained, “It was going to be a female playing the lead because we all can see her being the lead. She plays the President of the United States which is a really wonderful thing to imagine and she’s also a really good action figure… What surprised me more is not how amazing she is as an actor, because she has Oscars and Emmys, but it was how good she is at the fights, at kicking a**. She’s very good with close contact, with weapons. She loves the fights—and she is very believable.”
When the conversation turned to the potential of a sequel, Riggen lit up at the idea of expanding the ‘G20’ universe to India. “Yes, but you know what—if we get a lot of people watching this movie, for instance in India, we can do ‘G20: India’ next year,” she teased.
Asked who she would pair with Davis in that version, Riggen didn’t hesitate. “You guys have the best actors, you have the most amazing, good-looking, versatile actors, so I would get Shah Rukh Khan for sure.”
Shah Rukh Khan fans, consider this your cue: ‘G20’ premieres worldwide on Prime Video on April 10—time to show up and make that sequel happen.
