All-round action hero Gerard Butler first introduced us to the blockbuster Has Fallen movie franchise in 2013, playing Secret Service agent Mike Banning in Olympus Has Fallen, which paved the way for sequels, London Has Fallen in 2016 and Angel Has Fallen in 2019.
A fourth instalment, Night Has Fallen, is on the way, but in the meantime fans won't want to miss new eight-part spin-off show Paris Has Fallen, which takes the franchise in an exciting new direction and moves the action to the French capital.
Butler is on board as executive-producer for the series written by Misfits’ Howard Overman, but whether he’ll pop up in a cameo remains to be seen as the spin-off follows two brand-new characters: French security officer Vincent Taleb (Spiral’s Tewfik Jallab) and British MI6 operative Zara Taylor (The Umbrella Academy star Ritu Arya).
Here’s all we know about high-octane spin-off series Paris Has Fallen...
Paris Has Fallen release date
All eight episodes of Paris Has Fallen are available from Friday, November 1 in the UK on Prime Video. Hulu has picked up the rights in the US but a release date is yet to be announced.
Paris Has Fallen plot
Paris Has Fallen stars French actor Tewfik Jallab as tough-as-nails security officer Vincent Taleb, who’s tasked with protecting French Defence Minister Philippe Bardin (Nathan Willcocks) and accompanies him to a glitzy party at the British Embassy.
But when a terrorist group led by an ex-captain of the Foreign Legion, Jacob Pearce (Sean Harris), stages a violent takeover of the embassy, Vincent must race against time to get the minister out alive.
As he joins forces with British MI6 operative Zara Taylor (Ritu Arya), the pair soon realise that Jacob’s score-settling plan is far more heinous than they ever imagined. Can they stop him from wreaking havoc across the entire city?
"Vincent is a fascinating character," says Tewfik. "He’s the minister’s bodyguard and they have a strong relationship. But after the attack, Vincent finds out that Philippe is not the guy he thought he knew, and he realises Philippe might have been lying to him. Vincent doesn’t know who he can trust, but he has to open up his heart to Zara and tell her what he knows."
Paris Has Fallen action scenes
Paris Has Fallen puts its two lead stars through their paces in adrenaline-fuelled scenes packed with impressive stunts and chases around Parisian landmarks.
"I did my best action scenes ever on this show and the stunts were amazing," says Ritu. "We did jujitsu and boxing, and we had gun training. It was nonstop, but it was such fun. I also had contact with a former agent, who wasn’t able to tell me her real name, but she gave me a great insight into the day-to-day life of an agent, and the protocols and troubles of the job."
Ritu adds: "The story is really captivating: it’s just full of action and suspense. I love Zara as well. She’s complicated and has major trust issues, and she’s an MI6 agent with something to prove."
Tewfik says Paris itself was a 'gift' when it came to visual storytelling, too.
"If you put your camera anywhere in Paris, it’s going to be a great shot," he says. "The city is so photogenic. Everyone wants to shoot in Paris and there’s a reason for that, because it’s another character in the drama. It’s a gift for filmmakers."
Paris Has Fallen trailer
Hold onto your seats! Here's the trailer for Paris Has Fallen...
Who else is in Paris Has Fallen?
Alongside its leads, Tewfik Jallab and Ritu Arya, Paris Has Fallen also stars Sean Harris as terrorist leader Jacob Pearce. Sean is best known for his roles in The Borgias (2011–2013) Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015), Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018), The King (2019) and The Stranger (2022).
Nathan Willcocks (Marie Antoinette) plays French Minister Philippe Bardin, while the supporting cast includes Ana Ularu, Camille Rutherford, Jérémie Covillault, Emmanuelle Bercot and Karl Collins.
All eight episodes of Paris Has Fallen are available from Friday 1 November in the UK on Amazon Prime Video.
