Denzel Washington recruits Robert Pattinson for a Manhattan bank robbery in The Take, the Netflix thriller unveiled in new first-look photographs on November 9.
The film will arrive in select theaters and on Netflix on January 15, 2027. Its cast also includes Daisy Edgar-Jones, with City of God filmmaker Fernando Meirelles directing a screenplay by Simon Kinberg.
One image shows Washington emerging from a bank vault in a suit. Another finds Pattinson and Edgar-Jones crouched together in a commercial kitchen, looking up from behind the stainless-steel equipment.
Edgar-Jones was careful about revealing much more in Entertainment Weekly’s interviews with the cast and director. As she put it, “the fun of this film is the mystery and its turns.”
Pattinson’s Former Soldier Faces a Thief Who Thinks He Has Every Answer
Pattinson plays Noah, a former Army captain struggling to settle into civilian life. Washington plays Christian Carter, the experienced criminal behind the job.
The target is Manhattan’s richest bank, and there is a personal complication inside the building: Noah’s girlfriend, Rose, played by Edgar-Jones, works there as a teller.
Pattinson described Noah as distrustful of other people despite being deceptive himself. Even his reasons for taking part are unclear to him, and developments during the job keep forcing him to reassess what is happening.
Carter approaches the world with much greater certainty. Washington described him as a frustrated musician with a mathematical mind, convinced that success can be reduced to an equation.
That confidence comes with a willingness to exploit everyone around him. Carter believes he is the smartest person in the room and wants control, with little concern for anyone else’s fate.
Meirelles Says the Mysteries Come Together in the Final 10 Seconds
While preparing, Meirelles revisited Heat, Point Break, The Killing and Dog Day Afternoon. What distinguished Kinberg’s script for him was its combination of a heist, a psychological drama and a love story.
The director said the film avoids the usual cuts between criminals and their pursuers. Information reaches the audience through what Noah experiences or hears over an intercom, rather than through scenes revealing what everyone else is doing.
Meirelles teased that “everything falls into place” in the final 10 seconds. He left the nature of those revelations unexplained.
The editing process also changed how Noah appeared. In the first cut, he seemed more hesitant and insecure than Meirelles ultimately wanted. Returning to Pattinson’s existing takes gave the director enough material to make the character more confident.
Edgar-Jones influenced her character’s portrayal, too. Meirelles told Netflix’s Tudum that she brought an interpretation of Rose that differed from his original idea, and he adapted his approach to accommodate it.
Washington’s Improvisations Kept Pattinson and Meirelles Guessing
Pattinson previously worked with Washington’s son, John David Washington, in Christopher Nolan’s Tenet. Pattinson said he was one of the performers who had inspired him to enter the profession.
He was struck by Washington’s appetite for finding something new in each take. A scene Pattinson thought he understood could suddenly head in another direction when his costar improvised, making their work together unpredictable.
Meirelles had similar experiences. Sometimes he asked where a line had come from, only for Washington to answer, “I have no idea.” Several of those spontaneous moments remain in the finished film. Washington said the filmmakers he chooses to work with matter increasingly to him, both artistically and spiritually.
The Project Was Originally Called Here Comes the Flood
Netflix acquired Kinberg’s screenplay in 2020. That July, Jason Bateman was in early talks to direct the project, then titled Here Comes the Flood, as ComingSoon reported at the time.
By May 2025, Netflix had announced Meirelles as director and confirmed the three leads. The film was shot in New Jersey and later received its current title.
Danai Gurira, Sean Harris, Moisés Arias and Justin Kirk round out the announced cast. Meirelles also produces alongside Kinberg and Audrey Chon, with Samson Mucke serving as executive producer.