Don Winslow’s hit novel City on Fire is finally getting its movie adaptation, with Austin Butler in the lead role. The Oscar-nominated star will play the crime boss Danny Ryan in this Sony 3000 Pictures project, and he’s also coming on board as a producer.
City on Fire is the first title in a trilogy, with two more sequels coming out in 2023 and 2024, and it could potentially spawn an entire franchise. It chronicles the rivalry between two criminal empires—one Irish, the other Italian—that control all of New England.
Butler’s character Danny Ryan has been described as a crime boss who was forced to grow from a street soldier into a ruthless leader to protect his friends, his family, and his home.
Don Winslow, who wrote the City on Fire trilogy, gave Butler his seal of approval after being amazed by his Oscar-nominated performance in Elvis.
“I’ve had a number of conversations with Austin about this trilogy that I’ve been working on for almost 30 years of my life, and I have been deeply impressed by his commitment to playing Danny Ryan as well as his passion to also produce the three films,” said Winslow in a statement.
Butler will soon star in Dune: Part Two, and he’s also attached to Jeff Nichols’ The Bikeriders and Apple TV’s miniseries Masters of Air.
