Oscar-nominated Benedict Cumberbatch has signed on to star in the escape thriller Last Flight, playing Kirk Wallace Johnson, a former U.S. Agency for International Development reconstruction coordinator who later helped people facing reprisals secure routes out of Iraq and Afghanistan. The package is being introduced to buyers ahead of the European Film Market, according to Deadline.
The screenplay, written by Johnson, centers on Ali, a young Afghan trying to move his family to safety during the final days of a 20-year war. To reach the border, Ali relies on Johnson, described as an American stranger more than 11,000 kilometers away, working by phone and internet while trying to step away from the conflict.
BAFTA-winning director Babak Anvari is set to direct, with filming scheduled for May 2026 across the United Kingdom, Morocco and Jordan. Two & Two Pictures and Cumberbatch’s SunnyMarch are producing; Protagonist Pictures executives are attached as executive producers, and WME Independent is handling U.S. rights. Protagonist CEO Dave Bishop called the project “a rare thriller” that pairs high tension with “deep humanity,” and said Cumberbatch will bring “intelligence,” “depth,” and moral complexity to the role.
Anvari said the story feels personal to him and described a film built on pressure and “impossible” choices, driven by human consequences. The producers said the film aims to underline how remote action can still matter—when a person has little more than a phone, an internet connection, and the will to help.
Johnson’s real-world work has drawn attention for years. He served as a reconstruction coordinator in Fallujah and later founded The List Project to Resettle Iraqi Allies, which says it has helped bring more than 2,500 Iraqi allies to safety through pro bono legal support. The film’s Kabul-era framing lands in a period still argued over in Washington: congressional reporting has tracked persistent bottlenecks in Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrant Visa pathways, and U.S. government reviews have scrutinized evacuation planning and interagency coordination during August 2021.
