More than a decade ago, investigative journalist Monte Reel wrote a non-fiction book called The Last of the Tribe: The Epic Quest to Save a Lone Man in the Amazon. Now, that book is getting the feature film adaptation treatment as a “jungle thriller” simply called The Last of the Tribe – and Variety reports that the film is set to star Ethan Hawke (The Weight), Orlando Bloom (The Lord of the Rings), and model/environmental activist Zaya Guarani, who will be making her screen acting debut.
Synopsis
Claudio Borrelli (Vultures) will be directing The Last of the Tribe from a screenplay by Downfall and The Volcano: Rescue From Whakaari writer Mark Bailey. Some online reports indicate that Hawke and Guarani have been attached to this project since 2024, at which time it was going to be directed by City of God‘s Fernando Meirelles. He is still involved with the project as an executive producer.
Here’s the description of Reel’s book: Throughout the centuries, the Amazon has yielded many of its secrets, but it still holds a few great mysteries. In 1996 experts got their first glimpse of one: a lone Indian, a tribe of one, hidden in the forests of southwestern Brazil. Previously uncontacted tribes are extremely rare, but a one-man tribe was unprecedented. And like all of the isolated tribes in the Amazonian frontier, he was in danger.
Resentment of Indians can run high among settlers, and the consequences can be fatal. The discovery of the Indian prevented local ranchers from seizing his land, and led a small group of men who believed that he was the last of a murdered tribe to dedicate themselves to protecting him. These men worked for the government, overseeing indigenous interests in an odd job that was part Indiana Jones, part social worker, and were among the most experienced adventurers in the Amazon. They were a motley crew that included a rebel who spent more than a decade living with a tribe, a young man who left home to work in the forest at age fourteen, and an old-school sertanista with a collection of tall tales amassed over five decades of jungle exploration.
In the film adaptation, Hawke will be taking on the role of William Phelan, a washed-out Chicago cop turned corporate gun-for-hire, who is sent to investigate a death. During his mission he encounters the last surviving member of an Indigenous tribe.
Statements
Borelli provided the following statement: “I’m drawn to films that slam the raw, the rugged and the cruel head-on into the beautiful and the divine. In this story, the rainforest is both the villain and the savior — that natural and forever conflict is the essence of what I want to capture in The Last of the Tribe.“
Edward Saxon is producing The Last of the Tribe with Steve Schwartz and Paula Mae Schwartz for Chockstone Pictures, Mark Bailey, and Ethan and Ryan Hawke. Fernando Meirelles serves as executive producer, with his company O2 Filmes producing in Brazil. The producers said, “The Last of the Tribe is a tense, gripping, edge-of-your-seat thriller, a real old-school heart pounding ride. And yet, it is also about something that could not be more timely – the destruction of the rainforest and the people who call it home. Our fantastic cast, spearheaded by the extraordinary Ethan Hawke, and now joined by Bloom, are all so smart, and passionate, and talented and committed to the telling of this story. We are thrilled.“
Protagonist Pictures will be presenting the project to potential buyers at the European Film Market. The company’s CEO Dave Bishop added, “The Last of the Tribe is an intense, propulsive thriller with real moral weight at its core. Set deep in the Brazilian Amazon, the project pairs elevated genre storytelling with urgent contemporary themes. Claudio has crafted a bold vision, and with Ethan Hawke, Orlando Bloom and Zaya Guarani leading the cast, we’re excited to introduce this standout project to buyers at EFM.“
Guarani, who was born and raised in the Amazon, previously told Vogue Brazil, “When I received the script for The Last of the Tribe, I was struck by how closely it mirrored my own journey, as I grew up witnessing many territories around me constantly threatened and destroyed by human madness. As an Indigenous actress, I feel a deep duty to share with the world what our people are still going through… and I am extremely honored to have the opportunity to work with this incredible group of people.“
I’m a big Ethan Hawke fan and spend a lot of time in Brazil, so The Last of the Tribe sounds very interesting to me. Does this sound like something you’d be interested in seeing? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
