Kill director Nikhil Bhat to make Hollywood debut with actioner Deadlocked, starring Jamie Foxx, backed by Amazon

Deadlocked, a hostage action thriller that has landed at Amazon MGM Studios for worldwide distribution, is directed by Nikhil Bhat.

Published on: Aug 6, 2026, 08:19:41 IST

By Abhimanyu Mathur

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Nikhil Nagesh Bhat, the director who won acclaim for the violent action thriller Kill, is moving to Hollywood. The filmmaker will soon helm an action thriller starring Academy Award-winning actor Jamie Foxx. The film has landed at Amazon MGM Studios for worldwide distribution.

Nikhil Bhatt's Deadlocked

According to Deadline, Deadlocked will stream globally on Prime Video. The film's synopsis reveals that it “follows a grieving former Marine serving jury duty who is forced back into action when the trial of the century turns into a deadly hostage situation. The crisis begins when the defendant's daughter takes control of the courthouse in an attempt to free her father.”

The film is based on an original idea by Eric Scott Anderson (The Black Fox) and Matt Takejiro Bosack (NCIS: Hawai'i), who have written the screenplay.

Producers on Deadlocked include Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Fred Berger for Range, Dave Caplan for C2, and Foxx for Foxxhole Productions. AJ Bourscheid, Liz Destro, Paul Currie and Corinne Foxx will serve as executive producers.

Jamie Foxx's recent projects include Netflix's action-comedy Back in Action, co-starring Cameron Diaz, which recorded 46.8 million views in its opening weekend. The actor will next return to Netflix with the Olympic boxing drama Fight for '84, based on a true story.

Nikhil Bhat's Deadlocked will star Jamie Foxx in the lead.

Nikhil Bhat's career

Director Nikhil Bhat gained international attention with Kill, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was later sold to Lionsgate in a mid-seven-figure deal before receiving a wide theatrical release in 2024. The film, starring Lakshya and Raghav Juyal, was billed as India's most violent film ever and was a success at the box office and with critics. The film grossed over ₹47 crore at the box office and won six Filmfare Awards, including Best Debut for Lakshya.

Deadlocked will mark Nikhil's maiden foray into English-language feature films. Apart from Kill, he has also directed films Apurva and Hurdang, as well as web series Rasbhari and The Gone Game. According to reports, the filmmaker was also attached to Parshuram, an action thriller starring Sunny Deol. However, after the announcement of Deadlocked, it is uncertain if that project will be delayed or shelved altogether.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Abhimanyu Mathur
Abhimanyu Mathur is Deputy Editor, Entertainment at Hindustan Times. With almost 15 years of experience in writing about everything from films and TV shows to cricket matches and elections, he inhales and exhales pop culture and news. Currently, he watches movies and TV shows and talks to celebrities for a living, while occasionally writing about them as well. A journalism graduate of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Delhi University, Abhimanyu began his career with Hindustan Times at the age of 20, swapping classrooms for newsrooms at an early age. He began his journey in the early days of digital journalism, later switching to the madness of print journalism. Work has led him to far off places like Japan and Jordan, as well as to the interiors of Haryana and the Indo-Pak border. He dabbled in city reporting in places like Meerut, Gurgaon, and Delhi, covered the Olympics and Cricket World Cups, before finding his calling in entertainment and lifestyle during the pandemic. A Rotten Tomatoes Certified Film Critic, he is equally at home covering stories on ground as he is interviewing celebrities and studios, and sometimes prefers to shepherd teams in delivering traffic through the day. Even as his role has evolved from reporter to supervisor over the years, his first love remains writing (and of late, talking on camera). With a good understanding of cinema and its trends, and a keen eye for detail, he continues to spark conversations around showbiz for readers around the world.Read More

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