In a deal said to be worth around $30 million, A24 has officially acquired the global rights to The Peasant, an upcoming historical action-thriller helmed by Dev Patel. The agreement, reportedly finalized late last week, followed a wave of interest from rival studios — a testament to both Patel’s rising clout and the film’s franchise potential.
The Peasant marks Patel’s second outing as writer, director, and star, following his kinetic 2023 debut Monkey Man. This time, he trades urban grit for medieval grit: a 14th-century revenge tale set in feudal India, where a shepherd embarks on a bloody mission against the mercenary knights who destroyed his village. What begins as a straightforward vendetta slowly unravels into something more — a search for truth, identity, and a buried past.
Recently, we wrote, that the film first appeared on the 2023 Black List in a very different form — originally set in papal Italy. Under Patel’s direction, it’s evolved into a richly stylised and culturally specific world, with producers Fifth Season and Thunder Road Pictures now eyeing it as the launchpad for a larger saga.
With A24 behind it, The Peasant steps onto the global stage with serious momentum — and for Patel, it's another ambitious swing that puts his storytelling instincts and directorial muscle to the test.
