Netflix is bringing together two very different generations of Hollywood star power for a new crime thriller — and the combination alone is enough to make the project one to watch.
Denzel Washington and Robert Pattinson are set to star in The Take, an upcoming Netflix heist movie that promises a dangerous game of deception, cons and double-crosses.
They will be joined by Twisters and Normal People star Daisy Edgar-Jones, creating an impressive central trio for the upcoming thriller.
Netflix revealed fresh details about the project on October 27, confirming its title, expanded cast and basic storyline.
The movie is being directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Fernando Meirelles, best known for City of God and The Two Popes, while Simon Kinberg wrote the screenplay.
With Washington, Pattinson and Edgar-Jones at the center of an unconventional heist story, The Take already has the ingredients for one of Netflix’s most interesting upcoming crime movies.
Here is everything we know so far.
What Is The Take About?
Netflix is keeping most of the plot under wraps, which is probably a good decision for a movie built around deception.
The official premise reveals that The Take revolves around three key figures:
A bank guard, a teller and a master thief.
These three characters become involved in what Netflix describes as a deadly game involving cons and double-crosses.
That short description immediately separates the project from a straightforward bank robbery movie.
Rather than simply following criminals as they plan and execute a major theft, The Take appears to be built around shifting loyalties.
Who is manipulating whom?
Who can actually be trusted?
And is the robbery itself really the most important part of the plan?
Netflix has not revealed which of its three leading actors plays each role, leaving one of the movie’s most interesting questions unanswered.
Denzel Washington Leads an Impressive Cast
Any new Denzel Washington thriller attracts attention.
Putting him inside a complicated heist story makes the project even more intriguing.
Washington has spent decades moving effortlessly between prestige dramas, crime thrillers and action movies.
His performances in films such as Training Day, Man on Fire, Inside Man, American Gangster and The Equalizer franchise have made him particularly effective in stories involving dangerous characters and morally complicated situations.
The Take also creates an interesting connection to one of Washington’s most popular crime movies.
In Spike Lee’s 2006 thriller Inside Man, Washington played Detective Keith Frazier, who becomes involved in negotiations during an elaborate Manhattan bank robbery.
That movie was memorable because the robbery was far more complicated than it initially appeared.
The Take is a completely separate project, but seeing Washington return to the world of banks, criminals and deception will naturally interest fans of his earlier work.
Netflix has not yet confirmed which character Washington will play.
That mystery makes the casting even more interesting.
He could be the bank guard.
He could be the master thief.
Or the movie could deliberately challenge audience expectations.
Robert Pattinson Joins Denzel Washington
Robert Pattinson sharing the screen with Denzel Washington is one of the biggest reasons The Take stands out.
Pattinson’s career has changed dramatically since his years playing Edward Cullen in the Twilight franchise.
Rather than remaining within traditional blockbuster roles, he spent years choosing unusual projects with filmmakers including David Cronenberg, Robert Eggers, Claire Denis and the Safdie brothers.
His performance in Good Time particularly demonstrated his ability to thrive inside tense crime stories.
Pattinson later returned to massive studio filmmaking through Christopher Nolan’s Tenet and took on one of Hollywood’s most famous characters in Matt Reeves’ The Batman.
A movie built around deception could make particularly good use of his unpredictable screen presence.
The prospect of Washington and Pattinson trying to outsmart each other is immediately compelling.
Netflix hasn’t said whether their characters will be partners, enemies or something more complicated.
Considering the official description emphasizes double-crosses, audiences probably should not assume any relationship in The Take will remain straightforward.
Daisy Edgar-Jones Completes the Central Trio
The third major name is Daisy Edgar-Jones.
Edgar-Jones became internationally known through the acclaimed television adaptation of Normal People, which established her as one of the most promising young performers of her generation.
She subsequently appeared in projects including Fresh, Where the Crawdads Sing and the blockbuster Twisters.
Joining Washington and Pattinson represents another major step in her increasingly varied film career.
Again, Netflix has not revealed whether Edgar-Jones is playing the teller, bank guard or master thief.
The lack of character assignments means audiences can already begin guessing how the three actors fit into the movie’s central puzzle.
And that uncertainty may be intentional.
In a story about cons and double-crosses, appearances probably will not tell the entire story.
Danai Gurira Is Also Joining The Take
Netflix’s newest update also confirms Danai Gurira as part of the cast.
Gurira is widely recognized for playing Michonne in The Walking Dead universe and Okoye in Marvel’s Black Panther films.
Her involvement adds another performer with significant action and dramatic experience.
The supporting cast also includes Sean Harris, whose intense performances have made him particularly memorable in thrillers.
Harris is familiar to many audiences as Solomon Lane from the Mission: Impossible franchise.
Moisés Arias and Justin Kirk have also joined the ensemble.
Netflix has not provided detailed descriptions for their characters yet.
That means much of the movie remains intentionally mysterious despite the major casting announcement.
Fernando Meirelles Is Directing
The person behind the camera may be just as important as the stars in front of it.
Fernando Meirelles is directing The Take.
Meirelles received international acclaim for City of God, the 2002 Brazilian crime drama that became one of the most celebrated films of its era.
He later directed The Constant Gardener, Blindness and Netflix’s The Two Popes.
His work often combines strong visual filmmaking with characters operating under intense social or moral pressure.
That makes an unconventional heist thriller an interesting fit.
If The Take follows the psychological complexity suggested by its premise, Meirelles could bring something considerably different from the polished action style normally associated with big-budget heist movies.
Meirelles is also producing the film.
Simon Kinberg Wrote the Screenplay
The screenplay comes from Simon Kinberg.
Kinberg has been involved with numerous major Hollywood productions over the years.
His credits include Mr. & Mrs. Smith, while he has also worked extensively across the X-Men film franchise as a writer and producer.
For The Take, Kinberg is serving as both writer and producer.
He is producing alongside Audrey Chon and Fernando Meirelles, while Samson Mucke serves as executive producer.
The combination of Kinberg’s experience with large-scale Hollywood entertainment and Meirelles’ filmmaking background could give the movie an interesting balance between mainstream thriller and character-driven crime drama.
The Movie Previously Had Another Title
Some movie fans may already recognize this project under a different name.
Before becoming The Take, the movie had been publicly known as Here Comes the Flood.
The project has been developing for several years and has gone through changes during that time.
Netflix’s October 27 update now presents the movie under its new title, The Take.
The new name is considerably more direct and immediately connects the film to the crime and heist genre.
It also fits a movie centered around characters attempting to take something — potentially from both the bank and one another.
Whether the title has any deeper meaning within the story remains unknown.
Why This Doesn’t Sound Like a Typical Heist Movie
Hollywood has produced countless heist movies.
The basic formula is familiar.
A group assembles.
They create a complicated plan.
Something goes wrong.
Then the audience discovers that another plan may have existed all along.
But Netflix is specifically describing The Take as an unconventional heist movie.
That wording is important.
The focus on a bank guard, teller and master thief suggests that the story could be more intimate than something like Ocean’s Eleven.
Instead of following a large crew with specialized skills, the movie appears to revolve around three people whose interests collide.
The emphasis on cons and double-crosses also suggests that deception could matter more than explosions or elaborate action sequences.
A good heist movie makes audiences constantly reconsider what they think they know.
With performers like Washington and Pattinson involved, The Take has the potential to make those shifting loyalties particularly entertaining.
Denzel Washington and Robert Pattinson Make an Unexpected Pairing
Some casting combinations immediately make a movie interesting.
This is one of them.
Washington has been a leading Hollywood actor for decades, earning acclaim across drama, action and crime cinema.
Pattinson belongs to a younger generation and has built his post-Twilight career partly by embracing unusual and unpredictable roles.
Their acting styles are different.
Their screen personas are different.
And they have never built a major screen partnership before.
That contrast could become one of the film’s biggest strengths.
If their characters are opponents, audiences could get an intense battle of intelligence.
If they are working together, the inevitable question will be whether either man can actually trust the other.
And if one of them is secretly manipulating everyone else, the movie could have an excellent foundation for a major twist.
Netflix Is Keeping the Biggest Secrets Hidden
Despite announcing the cast and premise, Netflix has wisely avoided revealing too much.
There is no detailed plot synopsis explaining the entire robbery.
Character names and specific roles have not been publicly detailed in Netflix’s latest announcement.
We also don’t know exactly what the characters are attempting to steal or why the situation becomes deadly.
For a thriller based on deception, those mysteries are valuable.
Knowing too much about a heist movie before watching it can destroy the experience.
Part of the fun is discovering the plan at the same time as the characters — or believing you understand the plan before the movie reveals that you were wrong.
When Will The Take Be Released?
This is the biggest unanswered question.
Netflix has not announced an exact release date for The Take.
The movie’s official Netflix page already lists Washington, Pattinson and Edgar-Jones as its stars and categorizes the project as a thriller, heist and crime movie.
However, viewers will have to wait for Netflix to announce when it will actually begin streaming.
Until an official date is confirmed, any specific release-day claims should be treated cautiously.
The same applies to a trailer.
Netflix has not yet released a full official trailer showing audiences Washington, Pattinson and Edgar-Jones together in character.
That means the next major update could provide the first real look at the film’s tone and central relationships.
The Take Has the Ingredients for a Major Netflix Thriller
A famous cast alone cannot guarantee a great movie.
But The Take certainly has an impressive foundation.
Denzel Washington brings decades of experience in crime and thriller filmmaking.
Robert Pattinson has repeatedly demonstrated his willingness to take unpredictable roles.
Daisy Edgar-Jones continues to expand beyond the romantic dramas that initially made her famous.
Danai Gurira and Sean Harris strengthen an already impressive supporting cast.
Then there is Fernando Meirelles, a filmmaker whose work suggests this could become more than a conventional streaming action movie.
Combine those names with a story built around deception, bank crime and double-crosses, and it becomes easy to understand why The Take is attracting attention before audiences have even seen a trailer.
Final Thoughts
Netflix’s The Take is shaping up to be one of those projects where the cast immediately sells the concept.
Denzel Washington, Robert Pattinson and Daisy Edgar-Jones playing key figures in a dangerous heist would already be interesting.
Adding Danai Gurira, Sean Harris, Moisés Arias and Justin Kirk makes the ensemble even stronger.
But the most intriguing detail may be how little Netflix is telling us.
A bank guard.
A teller.
A master thief.
Cons.
Double-crosses.
And three major stars whose exact roles remain a mystery.
That is enough information to create curiosity without giving away the game.
Now audiences have to wait for Netflix to reveal the next piece of the puzzle — ideally the first trailer and an official release date.
Until then, one thing is clear: when Denzel Washington and Robert Pattinson enter the same heist, trusting anyone is probably a bad idea.
