EXTRACTION Director Sam Hargrave Locks in New Action Thriller IT HAD TO BE YOU for Sony and Platinum Dunes

If you’ve been keeping an eye on the modern action scene, you already know Sam Hargrave has directed some pretty spectacular movies. The director of Extraction is lining up his next big project, and it sounds like it’s going to deliver a mix of adrenaline and dangerous romance.

Hargrave has officially signed on to direct Sony Pictures and Platinum Dunes’ upcoming thriller It Had To Be You, a story that blends hitmen, tension, and a very complicated love story.

The film is based on the novel by Eliza Jane Brazier, who also wrote the screenplay and will serve as an executive producer.

In the story, two contract assassins are assigned to take each other out, but things get messy when they start catching feelings. What follows is a high-stakes chase across Western Europe, where attraction and survival collide in a deadly game of cat and mouse.

Hargrave isn’t just directing, he’s also producing alongside Cameron Fuller of Platinum Dunes. Fuller has been instrumental in getting the project off the ground, having originally sold the spec to Sony without any attached talent.

Now, with Hargrave in the director’s chair, the studio is gearing up to land major stars for the lead roles, and this kind of setup is exactly the kind that draws serious talent.

Hargrave’s rise in Hollywood has been pretty incredible to watch. Before stepping into directing, he built his reputation as a top-tier stunt performer and coordinator, earning five Taurus World Stunt Awards along with a Screen Actors Guild Award.

His stunt work on films like Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War helped define some of the MCU’s most memorable action sequences.

He made the leap to directing with Extraction, produced by the Russo Brothers and starring Chris Hemsworth, which became a massive hit for Netflix. He followed that up with Extraction 2, pushing the action even further and keeping the franchise’s momentum going strong.

Hargrave is already prepping the next chapter in the series, with Hemsworth set to return as Tyler Rake when production kicks off this summer.

And that’s not all he’s juggling. Hargrave recently wrapped Matchbox: The Movie, starring John Cena and Jessica Biel, which is set to hit this summer from Apple and Skydance. He also stepped into the TV space as a director and executive producer on The Last Frontier, an Apple TV drama starring Jason Clarke.

With It Had To Be You, Hargrave looks like he’s leaning into a slightly different flavor of action storytelling. It’s still packed with danger, but the emotional tension between two killers who aren’t supposed to care about each other adds a fun twist.

If Sony lands the right cast, this could easily turn into one of those stylish, character-driven action flicks that sticks with you.

Between this, the next Extraction installment, and Matchbox, Hargrave is building a lineup that action fans should definitely keep on their radar.