Dev Patel enters his action star era as a feral fighting monkey in new thriller

Dev Patel, "action star and director" certainly has a nice ring to it.

The Oscar nominee, 33, is set to return to the big screen — and mark his directorial feature debut — with Monkey Man, an action thriller produced by Jordan Peele. Patel stars as Kid, an anonymous young man who scrapes by in an underground fight club where, donned in a monkey mask, he is beaten to a pulp by fighters for cash.

Inspired by the legend of Hanuman, a Hindu deity embodying strength and courage, it tells the tale of Kid's quest for vengeance against the corrupt leaders who killed his mother and continue to victimize the poor and powerless. "As his childhood trauma boils over," the synopsis reads, "his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him."

The action-packed trailer released Friday is filled with plenty of bloody punches, explosions, car chases, and even some laughs as Patel's Kid plots a getaway by attempting to jump through a window — one that proves to be impenetrable as he plomps to the ground.

Patel, who penned the story with Paul Angunawela and John Collee, also produced alongside Peele, Jomon Thomas and John Wick franchise producers Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee, among others. Initially set for a Netflix release, it'll now be theatrically released on April 5 through Peele's film deal with Universal.

Sharlto Copley, Pitobash, Vipin Sharma, Sikandar Kher, Sobhita Dhulipala, Ashwini Kalsekar, Adithi Kalkunte, and Makarand Deshpande round out the cast.

Patel, who was known by many as Anwar on British comedy series Skins before his breakthrough role in the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire, last appeared on the big screen in A24's 2021 fantasy film The Green Knight. Other recent credits include the Wes Anderson short The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and TV series Modern Love.

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