One of Michael Fassbender‘s upcoming movies can improve on his 13-year-old action movie with the same director that flopped at the box office. Michael Fassbender has had some great movies in his acting career, from classics like Band of Brothers to more recent hits like The Killer. Many of his movies have been critically acclaimed, but not all of them made money at the box office. One of Fassbender’s films from 2011 was loved by critics and mostly forgotten by audiences, but he has an upcoming movie that could completely fix it.

Fassbender was once a front-runner for the role of James Bond. He earned a spot in the list of actors who would make a great 007 because of his action and thriller films, most prominently his role as Magneto in the X-Men franchise. Fassbender has since aged out of the running for the next Bond, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson will likely play Bond instead. One of Fassbender’s upcoming movies, however, could act as the perfect James Bond replacement, and give him a successful spy thriller to call his own. It could even improve on one fo the few missteps in Fassbender’s career.

Michael Fassbender Is Reuniting With Steven Soderbergh For Black Bag

Now, Michael Fassbender has been cast in Black Bag, an upcoming spy thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh. Black Bag is still early in development, so there aren’t many confirmed details about the film, aside from some casting news. Along with Fassbender, Black Bag has also cast two former James Bond actors in Pierce Brosnan and Naomie Harris, and Cate Blanchett is also lending her talents to the film. It’s also secured another former front-runner to play the next iteration of 007: Regé-Jean Page. With such a deep and talented cast, Black Bag seems even more similar to Fassbender’s last movie with Soderbergh.

Before Black Bag, the only time Fassbender and Soderbergh collaborated was in Haywire, a 2013 spy thriller. Haywire saw Fassbender star alongside Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor, Channing Tatum, and several other high-profile actors. Black Bag will put Fassbender opposite a huge number of prominent actors in a spy thriller again, which makes it very similar to Haywire already. Haywire had a massive problem when it was released, though, and Black Bag will need to fix that mistake to find success.

Haywire Had Good Reviews, But Wasn’t A Box Office Success

Critics generally liked Haywire – it earned a score of 80% on Rotten Tomatoes, enough to be considered “Certified Fresh.” Many critics applauded Haywire‘s action, suspense, and acting, and said that they worked together to make it an enjoyable film. Despite the critical acclaim, however, Haywire didn’t land as well with audiences. It only made $34.5 million at the worldwide box office against a budget of $23 million (via Box Office Mojo) and only earned a 41% audience score. A movie generally needs to make 2.5 times its budget to be profitable, so Haywire needed $57.5 million, which it fell well short of.

Could Black Bag Be A Bigger Hit Than Haywire?

Haywire failed to find its audience when it was released, but luckily, Black Bag is already set up to correct that mistake. One of the problems Haywire suffered from was that its star – Gina Carano – was making her film debut and wasn’t a major box office draw. Black Bag, however, boasts several established names. Both Soderbergh and Fassbender are much more prominent in the film industry, and the movie’s other stars should help draw in viewers. The fact that both Fassbender and Page were both considered to play James Bond could also help, since Black Bag will act as a replacement to 007 for them both.

Black Bag is already shaping up to be a very exciting spy thriller, and the fact that it’s generating excitement so early in its development is a very promising sign. Black Bag still has yet to release a plot synopsis, poster, tagline, or trailer, and only has casting news available. Already, Black Bag seems set to be a much more commercially successful film than Haywire was when it was released. Pairing Michael Fassbender and Steven Soderbergh together seems like a recipe for success, and their combined talents could make Black Bag one of the best spy thrillers in recent memory.

Sources: Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Mojo