Morgan Freeman Teams Up With Yellowstone Star For The Minute You Wake Up Dead

To ring in the shortest month of the year, Deadline released news this morning of renowned celebrity Morgan Freeman’s next jaunt in show biz.

By Erika Hanson | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

morgan freeman

To ring in the shortest month of the year, Deadline released news this morning of renowned celebrity Morgan Freeman’s next jaunt in show biz. The 84-year-old actor will once again don the authoritarian role for the upcoming thriller The Minute You Wake Up Dead. Joining Freeman comes an impressive casting lineup. Featuring everyone’s favorite full-time ranchhand and part-time bruiser from Yellowstone, Rip Wheeler, better known in Hollywood as Cole Hauser, will star alongside the fearless Asgardian warrior, Lady Sif, from Thor portrayed by the beautiful Jaimie Alexander.

The Minute You Wake Up Dead not only boasts an impressive lineup with Morgan Freeman, Cole Hauser, and Jaimie Alexander, but also a strong production crew. Being produced by Milestone Studios, the film will be directed by Michael Mailer of Heart of Champions and produced by Hollywood veteran Andrew Stevens, the man behind the hit film The Whole Nine Yards. Timothy Hollan will helm the screenplay, and the husband-wife duo of Dawn and Alen Bursteen of Milestone Studios will serve as the movie’s executive producers. 

The upcoming thriller follows Cole Hauser as a stockbroker. Set in the rural south, Hauser’s character becomes entangled in an insurance scam with his next-door neighbor played by Jaimie Alexander. With the events unfolding and multiple murders popping up following an onslaught of townsfolk wishing to also get their hands in the money pot, Sheriff Thurmond Fowler, played by Morgan Freeman, must work fervently to try and unravel the town’s mystery as the by-the-book sheriff gets more than he bargained for. Filming for The Minute You Wake Up Dead just launched in Mississippi

morgan freeman

While we wait for more casting news to be released, a look at the all-star trio’s screen history alone teases at what has the opportunity to become an epic thriller to add to Morgan Freeman’s long record of suspense films. No stranger to donning the police uniform, the Academy Award-winning actor has starred in similar genres through his long tenure in Hollywood. One of his most memorable roles was his portrayal of Detective Lt. William Somerset in the psychological crime thriller Seven alongside Brad Pitt. Similarly, Freeman has played detective and cop roles in other films like Kiss the Girls, Along Came a Spider and Gone Baby Gone

As for Cole Hauser, the 46-year old actor has seen a revival in his career with his role as Rip Wheeler on TV’s current hit series Yellowstone. Recently, Hauser was SAG nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. As for Jaimie Alexander, the Hollywood newbie just wrapped up filming her scenes as Lady Sif in Marvel’s upcoming film Thor: Love and Thunder. And as for the man famously known as “Red” by his fans, Morgan Freeman isn’t showing any signs of slowing down, as he also preps for a role in Zack Braff’s upcoming drama A Good Person– slated for release sometime late this year.

The Minute You Wake Up Dead is in the first stages of production, and we likely won’t get a release date any time soon for the upcoming thriller. However, like us, the studio’s executive producers seem thrilled to bring the project to the light of day. At the announcement release for the film, Dawn and Alan Bursteen said jointly: “We couldn’t be more excited to have such a stellar cast with unique talents on board. Morgan Freeman is one of the most acclaimed and respected actors globally, paired with the terrifically versatile and talented Cole Hauser and the wonderfully gifted actress Jaimie Alexander is an extraordinary and ideal cast for the film. In addition, we are thrilled to be working with visionary director Michael Mailer and veteran producer, Andrew Stevens on this clever suspense thriller.”