Cara Delevingne to Star in Eco-Action Thriller ‘The Climb’

Sales company Beta Cinema has picked up the eco-thriller “The Climb,” starring Cara Delevingne. Based on true events, the film tells the story of a Greenpeace-led protest action against Shell’s plans to drill in the Arctic, when female activists scale the tallest building in Europe, London’s Shard.

Delevingne will play one of the leads as the daredevilish-climber who is the head and heart of the venture. Since her 2012 acting debut in Joe Wright’s “Anna Karenina,” Delevingne has starred in “Paper Towns,” the film adaptation of the John Green novel, DC Comics’ “Suicide Squad,” Luc Besson’s space opera blockbuster “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets,” Michael Winterbottom’s “The Face of an Angel,” Alex Ross Perry’s “Her Smell,” and “Life in a Year,” opposite Jaden Smith.

The film is the directional debut of leading visual effects art director Hayley Easton Street, whose credits include “Justice League,” “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and “Thor: The Dark World.”

Eclipse Films will produce. Their work includes “Urban Hymn,” starring Letitia Wright, “Finding Your Feet,” starring Imelda Staunton and Timothy Spall, “The Corrupted,” starring Sam Claflin, Timothy Spall and Hugh Bonneville, and recently released feature documentary “Shane,” about the cricket star Shane Warne for Amazon.

The team behind the camera includes D.P. Fabian Wagner (“Game of Thrones,” “The Crown,” “Justice League”), production designer Alan Gilmore (“Harry Potter,” “The Bourne Ultimatum,” “World War Z”) and VFX supervisor Steve Street (“Ex Machina,” “Robin Hood,” “SAS Red Notice”).

Most of “The Climb” is set to be shot as a virtual production using The Volume technology, which helped to create productions like “The Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett.”

Beta Cinema will handle world sales and introduces the project to buyers for presales at Berlin’s European Film Market this week.

Easton Street said: “My passion for this project is unwavering, it is the perfect subject matter, style and technical challenge for me. Using the skills I’ve honed over the last 20 years, ‘The Climb’ draws on every aspect of my life and work. I couldn’t be more excited about bringing this important environmental story to life, and letting the amazing characters, and thrilling action truly shine on screen.”

Eclipse Films’ Andrew Berg said: “This story is a global one and needs to be told. What these six women achieved is truly inspirational and audiences all over the world will resonate with it now more than ever. With Hayley’s experience on big studio pictures and her abundant talent as a storyteller, her drive and vision will culminate in an entertaining, thrilling and spectacular looking film.”

Beta Cinema’s head of sales and acquisitions, Tassilo Hallbauer, said: “Hayley wrote an absolute smash hit of a script, telling a story that could not be more topical and important all over the world right now – wrapped into a nail biting heist thriller. With a passionately committed and incredibly supportive Cara Delevingne on board, we are certain to create a global buzz for ‘The Climb’ out of Berlin’s EFM.”

Delevingne is repped by WME, Ocean Avenue Entertainment, The Lede Company and SOWDLLP.