When Terry Richmond (Aaron Pierre) cycles into a small town on a mission of mercy in Rebel Ridge, he has no idea what he’s getting himself into. The ex-Marine is there to bail out his cousin, who’s currently under arrest. But before he can even reach the courthouse, Terry is hurled off his bike and into the center of a vast conspiracy that implicates every level of the town of Shelby Springs — and it’ll take all of his skills to get out. 

Rebel Ridge’s writer-director Jeremy Saulnier (Green Room, Hold the Dark) told Netflix, “As a filmmaker, I dig grounded ’80s and ’90s action films that not only deliver on spectacle but succeed in tying on-screen mayhem to a real and true emotional component. Smaller scale, bigger impact. Less veneer, less artificiality. They’re rooted in a ‘kick up the dust’ level of craft and authenticity that I don’t see often in the current space, and I was interested in making a film more like that.”

Rebel Ridge is a pulse-pounding thriller about how far one man will go for justice. You can check out the trailer above, and read on for more information.

When will Rebel Ridge be on Netflix?

Rebel Ridge is now streaming on Netflix.

Who does Aaron Pierre play in Rebel Ridge?

At the heart of the film is Pierre’s character, Terry Richmond, a former marine with a deadly set of skills and a rigid set of principles. Terry is a man who embodies those grounded qualities that Saulnier values so highly — as does Pierre himself. “I would describe Terry as endlessly centered,” Pierre said of the character. “You need to navigate and manage the situations that he does in this movie with such composure.” To say anything more would be to spoil the movie’s many twists and turns.

Rebel Ridge was a dream come true for Pierre. “Just to be gifted the opportunity to play a character so nuanced and layered and complex and deeply human as Terry Richmond is undeniable,” Pierre told Netflix. “These opportunities don’t come by your desk every day. So when they do, you grab it with both hands, you embrace it, and you pull yourself into the character and the creation of said project. I also learned so very much every single day working with the tremendous talent that is Jeremy Saulnier. And the script, which Jeremy also wrote, was undeniable for me. And that’s not a word that I use lightly.”

Patti Perret

Saulnier was just as excited to work with Pierre. “I was asking for the world. Someone young, with a vibrance to them. But they needed next-level chops. A depth, a cerebral weight that’s hard to find along with the physicality the role demanded. Someone who could surprise you when they revealed Terry’s true skill set, but would make perfect sense when utilizing it. Not many actors can check that box.” 

Pierre checked that box, but not quite in the way Saulnier expected. “At a sturdy 6-foot-3, I thought he’d be too imposing for what I had in mind for the role,” Saulnier said. “Dude vibes superhero, and that’s not what I normally gravitate towards.” 

But one conversation convinced Saulnier that Pierre was the man for the job. “We hopped on a Zoom, and within two minutes I knew he was the guy,” he said. “He was striking. His intelligence and thoughtfulness were intimidating. He was quiet and cool, deeply respectful and passionate. He has a serene nature to his soul. His physicality still vibed superhero, but I was like, ‘Fuck it — he’s a superhero.’ And Aaron was, on-screen and off. It was an absolute thrill to find each other at the perfect time in our lives and our careers.”

Allyson Riggs

What is Rebel Ridge about?

Terry Richmond (Pierre) enters the town of Shelby Springs on a simple but urgent mission — post bail for his cousin and save him from imminent danger. But when Terry’s life savings are unjustly seized by law enforcement, he’s forced to go head-to-head with local police chief Sandy Burnne (Don Johnson) and his combat-ready officers. Terry finds an unlikely ally in court clerk Summer McBride (AnnaSophia Robb), and the two become ensnared in a deep-rooted conspiracy within the remote township. As the stakes turn deadly, Terry must call upon his mysterious background to break the department’s hold on the community, bring justice to his own family –– and protect Summer in the process.

Rebel Ridge is a deeply human yet high-velocity thriller that explores corruption and morality in the context of bone-breaking action and ever-coiling suspense. “I am very interested in examining corrupt systems — how they are built and what people tell themselves to disavow or justify their own part in them,” Saulnier said. “For this movie, I wanted to tap into how the rest of us react to said systems, how infuriating they can be — from corrupt politicians down to the endless loop of a customer service call gone wrong. There’s action and violence for sure, but it was fun to explore weaponizing words in a narrative sense, to make dialogue scenes play like high-stakes set pieces — to go more terrestrial and more grounded in order to play up an emotional charge that can resonate even more on-screen with two characters facing off verbally than when the pyrotechnics start exploding.” 

Allyson Riggs

Who’s in the cast of Rebel Ridge?

The ensemble cast of Rebel Ridge includes:

• Aaron Pierre (Old, The Underground Railroad) as Terry Richmond 
• Don Johnson (Knives Out, Miami Vice) as Chief Sandy Burnne
• AnnaSophia Robb (Soul Surfer, The Act) as Summer McBride
• David Denman (The Office, Mare of Easttown) Deputy Evan Marston
• Emory Cohen (The Place Beyond the Pines, The OA) as Deputy Steve Lann
• Steve Zissis (Cyrus, Her) as Elliot
• Zsané Jhé (Watchmen, The Hate U Give) as Deputy Jessica Sims
• Dana Lee (Dr. Ken, Curb Your Enthusiasm) as Mr. Liu
• James Cromwell (L.A. Confidential, Succession) as Judge Reginald Logston

Saulnier’s enthusiasm for ’80s and ’90s action extends beyond film and into TV; he said, “I’m an ’80s kid, so like many I was first introduced to [Johnson] from Miami Vice. It’s known for the pop culture iconography, but that show had weight to it. Gravity. I remember experiencing my first-ever unhappy television ending watching that show — ‘The drug dealer got away!’ I’ve been a fan of his since I can remember, and I’ve tracked him for decades. With [the character of] Chief Sandy Burnne, there was an opportunity to let Don have a little bit of fun and chew on some dialogue, but hold close to his ability to come off dead serious, reptilian. We’d get quiet, keep it subtle, almost create live theater along with Aaron to generate that static electricity between them that drives the film forward.”

The director cited the “raw dynamic” between Pierre and Johnson, and said, “The whole thrust of the movie is the charge between them, not only the potential for violence, but that restrained idea of sort of gentlemanly respect. Game recognizes game.”

Allyson Riggs

Pierre has nothing but wonderful things to say about his castmates. “To work with AnnaSophia Robb, who is one of my dearest friends now, to work with Don Johnson, to work with James Cromwell and the entirety of the rest of the cast and crew, it was just a blessing,” he said. “There was never one day that my alarm went off where I wasn’t just energized and thrilled to be going to work on this picture with these tremendous artists.”

Adds Saulnier about Robb, “It was clear from her first reading that she had the warmth, the physicality, and a unique understanding of not only her character but the entirety of the screenplay and all of its many layers and mechanisms. The way she simplified all that complexity was a director’s dream.”

Allyson Riggs