Christopher McQuarrie has lined up his first film after closing out the Mission: Impossible era, and it pairs him with one of the most decorated actors alive. The director will helm an untitled original thriller for Amazon MGM starring Denzel Washington, a first-time collaboration between the two.

The film, written by Scott Barkan and Gregg Zehentner and at one point referred to as The Frame, follows a former police detective serving a life sentence. Diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and given six months to live, he is granted compassionate release and sets out to make amends with his estranged daughter and grandson — but his past has not forgotten about him, and atoning for his crimes proves more dangerous than serving the time.

McQuarrie produces alongside his wife, Heather McQuarrie. Scott Stuber and Nick Nesbitt produce for United Artists, with Joseph Restaino of Hungry Bull Productions and Reza Moheet and Norman Aladjem of Mainstay Entertainment also producing.

The pairing comes together now that both men’s schedules have cleared: McQuarrie wrapped the franchise he has steered since Rogue Nation in 2015 with last year’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, and Washington is coming off Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest. Amazon MGM has confirmed a theatrical release, dated for October 1, 2027.