Veteran stunt coordinator and second unit director Scott Rogers (Tron: Ares) will make his directorial debut with an adaptation of One Second After, the first book in the New York Times bestselling John Matherson trilogy by William R. Forstchen.
Set in the hills of North Carolina, the story follows college professor and former military officer John Matherson as he fights to preserve the lives of his family and neighbors in the wake of an electromagnetic pulse attack. In just one second, the United States is completely incapacitated, thousands are killed, and millions are stranded. Planes fall from the sky, electricity goes out everywhere, supply lines collapse, and transportation is limited to pre-digital-era vehicles and horses. Millions of travelers, unable to get home, wander the highways in search of shelter. In the resulting chaos, residents of John’s tight-knit community look to him to guide them through the difficult decisions that must be made if any of them are to survive.
A co-production of MPI Original Films (Motherland, Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game) and Startling Inc. (House of the Dragon, Game of Thrones), the film heads into production in Bulgaria in September. The script is by J. Michael Straczynski, a BAFTA, PGA and WGA Award nominee whose work spans projects like Sense8, Changeling, and Babylon 5. MPI’s Rob Pfaltzgraff and Startling Inc.’s Matt Kennedy will produce, with MPI’s Nick Reid and William R. Forstchen serving as executive producers.
With over three decades of experience in film and television, Rogers has led second unit direction and stunt coordination on blockbusters like Tron: Ares, out via Disney October 10, as well as John Wick: Chapter 4, Uncharted, Race to Witch Mountain, Mulan, Oz, and The Bourne Ultimatum. He is repped by WME.
Straczynski is repped by Janklow and Nesbit Associates, Innovative Artists, and Gendler, Kelly & Cunningham.
