James Hawes has found his next major studio project, boarding the 20th Century thriller Amateur starring Oscar winner Rami Malek.

The film is set to follow a CIA cryptographer reeling in the aftermath of his wife's death due a terrorist attack in London. As such, he tries to demand that his bosses jump on the case, but conflicting internal priorities stop them from acting. So, the cryptographer instead decides to blackmail the agency into training him so that he can pursue the terrorists himself.

Gary Spinelli penned the most recent draft. Hutch Parker and Dan Wilson are producing, with Malek executive producing.

Malek, who got his start in a small role in "Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb", burst onto the scene in USA Network's buzzy conspiracy thriller "Mr. Robot". He also played Freddie Mercury in Bryan Singer’s controversial but incredibly successful musical biopic, winning the Best Actor Oscar for the $905 million-grossing blockbuster. He has since starred in films like "Amsterdam" and "The Little Things" along with playing the prime bad guy in the most recent 007 movie, "No Time to Die".

Malek will next be seen in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer and is aboard a miniseries about the life and career of Buster Keaton.

Source: Press Release