Charlize Theron in Talks to Star in Netflix Thriller "Apex"

Charlize Theron is in final negotiations to star in and produce the Netflix thriller "Apex".

Baltasar Kormákur is also in final negotiations to direct from a script penned by Jeremy Robbins.

The project is described as "Free Solo" meets "Silence of the Lambs" and follows a rock climber who finds herself being hunted in the wild.

Theron will produce the project along with Dawn Olmstead, Beth Kono, and AJ Dix via their newly launched media company, will Kormákur via his RVK productions, Ian Bryce, and Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, and David Ready via through Chernin Entertainment.

This project’s development is rare in the current state of the industry, in which many studios are looking for a big splashy package full of talent before coming on board. 

In the case of Apex, Netflix execs were so blown away by the script that they bought it with only the producers on board earlier this year. When it came to an actor and director, Theron and Kormákur were their first choices, and in another rare case, both committed after reading the script.

In a time when sequels are dominating the release schedule, "Apex" is an example of a great original story still attracting A-list names.

Theron is no stranger to Netflix, having starred in several films at the streamer including "The School of Good and Evil", "The Old Guard" and its upcoming sequel "The Old Guard 2".

Kormákur is coming off the best reviews of his career with the recently released drama "Touch". Since its release, the movie has earned rave reviews and has a 93% Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes.