Stephen Lang (Twentieth Century Fox’s Avatar franchise, CBS’ “The Good Fight”), Nick Cassavetes (Paramount Pictures’ Academy Award-nominated Face/Off, New Line Cinema’s My Sister’s Keeper) and Diego Tinoco (Netflix’s “On My Block,” MTV’s “Teen Wolf”) join Golden Globe-nominee Aaron Eckhart (Warner Bros.’ blockbuster The Dark Knight, Jason Reitman’s Thank You for Smoking) in the thriller Muzzle, it was announced today.

Directed by John Stalberg Jr.’s (Lionsgate’s Crypto starring Luke Hemsworth, Kurt Russell and Alexis Bledel), the film is written by Carlyle Eubank (Focus Features’ The Signal) from a story by Eubank and Stalberg Jr. 

Leading Los Angeles based sales company Highland Film Group is co-financing the thriller and handling worldwide rights to Muzzle. Principal photography is scheduled to start this summer.

Muzzle is produced by Broken Open Pictures’ David Frigerio (Lionsgate’s Crypto), Stalberg Jr. and Ford Corbett (the upcoming Where all Light Tends to Go starring Billy Bob Thorton and Robin Wright). The film is executive produced by Dallas Sonnier and Michael J. Weiss alongside Arianne Fraser and Delphine Perrier from Highland Film Group. The movie is being cast by David Gugliemo.

“Muzzle is a captivating thriller with an incredible ensemble cast, led by the talented Aaron Eckhart,” said Highland Film Group’s CEO Arianne Fraser. “Truth and conspiracy powerfully interweave themselves throughout the film – it’s an intense and high-octane film that today’s audiences love. We cannot wait to see the cameras roll on this exciting project from director John Stalberg Jr.,” added COO Delphine Perrier.

LAPD K-9 officer Jake Rosser (Eckhart) has just witnessed the shocking murder of his dedicated partner by a mysterious assailant. As he investigates the shooter’s identity, he uncovers a vast conspiracy that has a chokehold on the city in this thrilling journey through the tangled streets of Los Angeles and the corrupt bureaucracy of the LAPD.

Stephen Lang is best known for his performance as Miles Quaritch in James Cameron’s epic Avatar as well as his roles in Buena Vista Pictures’ Tombstone with Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer and Sam Elliott and Screen Gems’ horror film hit Don’t Breathe directed by Fede Alvarez. Lang is set to appear in the four upcoming sequels in the Avatar franchise as well as Mid-Century alongside Bruce Dern and Shane West. Additional credits include a season long arc on CBS’ “The Good Fight.”

Nick Cassavetes is known for roles in Paramount Pictures’ Academy Award-nominated Face/Off starring Nicolas Cage and John Travolta, Warner Bros.’ comedy The Hangover Part II directed by Todd Philips and HBO’s multiple Emmy Award-winning “Entourage” as a fictionalized version of himself. Cassavetes will next be seen in Bad Hombres alongside Thomas Jane, Tyrese Gibson and Luke Hemsworth and The Ogilvy Fortune with multiple Emmy Award-winners Keith David and Chevy Chase.

Diego Tinoco stars in the forthcoming Sony Pictures franchise Knights of the Zodiac with Madison Iseman, Sean Bean and Famke Janssen. Tinoco is best known for the Teen Choice Award winning Netflix series “On My Block.”  Other credits include the Sundance feature R#J, directed by Carey Williams, and Bad Hombres, which was also directed by Stahlberg.

Eckhart is repped by CAA and Hirsch, Wallerstein, Hayum, Matloff, and Fishman; Lang is repped by Lisa Lieberman at Innovative Artists (New York); Tinoco is repped by Paradigm, Impact Artists Group and Jackoway Austen; Eubank is repped by Alex Hertzberg at Atlas Literary.

Highland Film Group’s current sales slate of films also includes the action thriller Land of Bad starring Russell Crowe and Liam Hemsworth;  Neil LaBute’s Fear the Night starring Maggie Q; Daniel Casey’s  Wardriver starring Dane DeHaan and Sophie Turner; Rusty Cundieff’s 57 Seconds starring Morgan Freeman and Josh Hutcherson; the horror thriller Felix starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth; John Stalberg Jr.’s Muzzle starring Aaron Eckhart; One True Loves starring Shang-Chi’s Simu Liu, Phillipa Soo and Luke Bracey; Adrian Grünberg’s thriller The Black Demon starring Josh Lucas; James Cullen Bressack’s Hot Seat starring Mel Gibson and Kevin Dillon; K. Asher Levin’s Slayers starring Thomas Jane, Abigail Breslin and Malin Akerman; Renny Harlin’s The Misfits starring Pierce Brosnan, Nick Cannon and Tim Roth; Allan Ungar’s Bandit starring Josh Duhamel, Mel Gibson and Elisha Cuthbert; Stephan Rick’s The Good Neighbor starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Luke Kleintank and Avan Jogia’s Door Mouse starring Hayley Law, Famke Janssen and Keith Powers.