Samaritan was filmed in Atlanta, the state capital of Georgia. MGM bought the script and attached Stallone’s Balboa Production to co-produce the feature. With Stallone set to star, Julius Avery came on board to direct the following September. The rest of the cast, including Michael Aaron Milligan, Jared Odrick, Javon Walton, Pilou Asbaek, Dascha Polanco, Moises Arias, and Martin Starr, came on board in February 2020.
You may have noticed the production dates and delays and wondered why it took so long to get Samaritan released. The film had numerous production delays in Atlanta due to COVID-19 outbreaks and shutdowns from shooting dates from February 2020 until October of that year.
Avery’s film had three release dates scheduled and numerous pushbacks. The first was on November 20th, 2020. It was then pushed back to December 11th, 2020. Finally, it was made before for a big summer release on June 4th, 2021.
Atlanta has become the Hollywood of the Southeast over the past twenty years. Supported by such entertainment and industry legends as Ted Turner and Tyler Perry and the location of the Screen Gems studio, the film industry in Georgia has 3.9 billion dollars in investment. The Georgia Commerce Contacts (you will see their logo at the end of every episode of Family Feud) created almost 30,000 jobs in the state. The Atlanta metro area is the 8th largest in the country and the 10th largest economy.
There is a wealth of classic and popular films shot in Atlanta. These include multiple Marvel films like The Avengers, Ant-Man, Captain America: Civil War, and Black Widow. And, of course, you have Tyler Perry Studios, which has a massive 330-acre campus. Shows like All the Queen’s Men and Hawkeye have been shot there, as well as features such as First Man, Red Notice, Coming 2 America, Zombieland: Double Tap, and of course, A Madea Homecoming.
Legendary action star Sylvester Stallone’s action filmography has been “miss and miss.” Rambo: Last Blood and the Escape Plan movie has left many wondering where the man behind The Expendables has gone. Hasn’t his career rebirth after Creed given him opportunities for better scripts? The fact is that Mr. Stallone oversees his career. So, when I read that he has a movie called Samaritan, I was immediately worried we might have another Backtrace on our hands. To my relief, with Overlord director Julius Avery attached, Samaritan may be one of his best in years.
Stallone plays Joe Smith, a reclusive neighbor of thirteen-year-old Sam Cleary. The teenager thinks Mr. Smith is a dead vigilante, Samaritan, who is hiding in plain sight and fakes his own death 25 years prior. How did he die? Supposedly in a warehouse fire and at the hands of his nemesis, named Nemesis. Sam now wants to find out the truth and bring the Samaritan out of retirement if he is right.
The film is written by Escape Room scribe Bragi F. Schut (who adapted his script into a series of graphic novels from Mythos Comics before the film was shot).
Read More: Samaritan Ending Explained
