Dennis Quaid is trading flowers for firearms in the first trailer for The Florist, an upcoming action thriller that puts the veteran actor in a role audiences don’t often get to see from him. The movie follows a quiet horticulturist who appears to have left his violent past behind, only for an unexpected friendship to drag his deadly skills back into the spotlight.
Directed by Babak Najafi, the filmmaker behind London Has Fallen, The Florist pairs Quaid with another familiar face from the world of assassin movies: Jean Reno. The cast also includes Sky Katz, while Saban Films is handling the film’s North American distribution.
The premise immediately recalls the increasingly popular “retired killer gets pulled back in” action formula, but The Florist appears to give that setup a more personal angle. Instead of simply putting its protagonist against an army of villains, the story connects his dangerous past to an unlikely friendship with a teenage girl.
The Florist Trailer Turns Dennis Quaid Into a Reluctant Assassin
The first The Florist trailer wastes little time establishing that Carl Rikker isn’t exactly the harmless gardener he appears to be.
During the day, Carl is an introverted horticulturist who genuinely enjoys his quiet job. He has seemingly built a peaceful life away from the violence of his previous career. But when night falls, another side of Carl emerges: he’s secretly a highly trained assassin.
That contrast is what gives the movie its central hook. Carl isn’t looking for trouble, and he isn’t necessarily trying to prove that he’s still the best killer in the room. He’s someone who has attempted to leave that life behind, only to discover that escaping your past isn’t always as easy as changing careers.
The trailer suggests that Carl’s carefully controlled existence begins to collapse when he develops an unlikely relationship with a teenage girl, forcing him to confront the skills he has spent years trying to bury.
Dennis Quaid Gets His Own “Retired Assassin” Action Movie
The basic premise of The Florist will sound familiar to anyone who has followed modern action cinema.
Movies such as John Wick and The Beekeeper have helped popularize stories about seemingly ordinary people who turn out to possess extraordinary — and often extremely violent — abilities. The Florist puts Dennis Quaid into that same territory, although its protagonist’s profession gives the concept an unusual visual contrast.
Quaid is playing a man surrounded by flowers, plants, and an otherwise peaceful lifestyle, while secretly possessing the abilities of a professional killer.
That dual identity creates plenty of room for the movie to move between quieter character moments and full-blown action sequences. Based on the trailer, however, audiences shouldn’t expect the flowers to remain the most dangerous thing in Carl’s world for very long.
Jean Reno Adds Another Legendary Assassin to the Cast
Dennis Quaid isn’t the only major action veteran appearing in The Florist. The movie also stars Jean Reno, an actor particularly familiar to fans of assassin-driven thrillers.
Reno famously played Léon in Léon: The Professional, giving the new film an amusing connection to one of cinema’s most recognizable professional killers. While The Florist isn’t simply recreating that character, Reno’s presence immediately adds another layer of action-movie credibility to the cast.
For viewers who enjoy seeing veteran stars return to the genre, the pairing of Quaid and Reno is arguably one of the movie’s biggest selling points.
Rather than relying entirely on younger action stars, The Florist is putting two established actors with very different screen personas into the middle of a violent thriller.
What Is The Florist About?
The Florist follows Carl Rikker, a quiet and introverted horticulturist who genuinely enjoys his ordinary day job. There’s nothing about his current lifestyle that suggests he’s living a double life.
But Carl has a secret.
At night, he works as a ruthless assassin.
His carefully maintained identity becomes threatened after he develops an unlikely friendship with a teenage girl. That relationship puts his hidden past at risk and eventually forces Carl to use the very skills he hoped he had left behind.
The setup gives The Florist a combination of action, suspense, and emotional stakes. Carl isn’t simply fighting because he’s been hired to do another job. His personal connection to the girl becomes the reason he has to confront his old life.
The Movie Plays With the Idea of a Double Life
One of the more interesting aspects of The Florist is the contrast between Carl’s two identities.
His work as a horticulturist represents the life he’s chosen. It’s quiet, routine, and far removed from violence. His career as an assassin represents the person he was before that life — someone capable of doing things most people couldn’t imagine.
That conflict gives the movie more to work with than a straightforward shoot-’em-up.
The question isn’t only whether Carl can defeat the people coming after him. It’s also whether he can protect the new life he’s built without becoming the person he was trying to escape.
That character-driven angle could help The Florist stand out in a crowded action-thriller market.
Babak Najafi Is Behind The Florist
Babak Najafi directs The Florist, bringing previous action experience to the project. Najafi previously directed London Has Fallen, the Gerard Butler-led sequel that delivered the kind of explosive action expected from a modern studio thriller.
The screenplay comes from Eran Creevy and Scott Windhauser. Creevy previously worked on Welcome to the Punch, while Windhauser has writing credits including Mafia Wars.
The creative team therefore has experience working within crime and action-oriented storytelling, which should serve The Florist well as it moves between Carl’s quiet everyday existence and his much more dangerous past.
Who Stars in The Florist?
Alongside Dennis Quaid and Jean Reno, The Florist features Sky Katz, who is known for Raven’s Home. The cast also includes Anna Schafer, Leonidas Gulaptis, and Dylan Flashner.
Quaid remains the clear centerpiece of the project, with the story revolving around Carl Rikker and his attempt to protect his secret while navigating his relationship with the teenage girl who unexpectedly enters his life.
Jean Reno’s involvement is particularly intriguing because of the actor’s history with assassin characters, while the younger members of the cast provide a contrast to the film’s veteran action stars.
The Florist Has Strong John Wick DNA
It would be impossible to discuss The Florist without mentioning the influence of modern assassin thrillers.
The movie’s setup — an apparently ordinary person who possesses a highly dangerous past — sits comfortably alongside the broader action genre popularized by movies such as John Wick. However, The Florist appears less interested in presenting Carl as an unstoppable killing machine from the beginning.
Instead, his hidden identity is part of the mystery.
That difference could prove important. The appeal of Carl Rikker isn’t simply that he knows how to use a gun or survive a fight. It’s the fact that nobody looking at the quiet florist would expect him to be capable of violence on that level.
The trailer appears to understand that contrast and uses it as the foundation for the movie’s action.
Who Is Behind The Florist?
The movie is produced by Ellen Wander and Jordan Dykstra of Film Bridge International, along with Jina Panebianco of CaliWood Pictures and Gabriel Georgiev of Midwest.
Additional producing and executive-producing credits include Ceasar Richbow, Latavius Powell, Matthew Helderman, Luke Taylor, Grady Craig, Justin Hawkins, Ben Demaree, Denisa Juhos, John D. Strahley, R. Wesley Sierk, David Gendron, Ali Jazayeri, and Stefan Klink.
Film Bridge International has also arranged international distribution partnerships across several territories, reflecting the film’s ambitions as an internationally marketable action thriller.
Film Bridge Sees a Strong Audience for Action Thrillers
Film Bridge International’s Ellen Wander has positioned The Florist as a movie designed to satisfy the continuing appetite for well-made action thrillers.
The combination of director Babak Najafi and stars Dennis Quaid and Jean Reno is being presented as one of the project’s major strengths. The producers have also emphasized the film’s emotional stakes alongside its action, suggesting that Carl’s relationship with the teenage girl will be just as important to the story as the gunfights.
That balance could be key for The Florist. Action audiences increasingly expect more than explosions and body counts, particularly when a movie is built around a veteran actor stepping into a familiar genre.
Why Dennis Quaid’s Action Turn Is So Interesting
Dennis Quaid has never been a stranger to action, but The Florist gives him a particularly distinctive version of the genre.
Rather than playing an established police officer, soldier, spy, or traditional action hero, Quaid starts as someone who looks completely removed from that world. His character spends his days working with plants and maintaining a quiet routine.
Then the old assassin emerges.
That makes the trailer’s transformation of Carl one of the movie’s biggest attractions. Audiences aren’t simply watching Dennis Quaid play another action hero; they’re watching him reveal a side of a character that has been deliberately hidden.
When Will The Florist Be Released?
Saban Films is distributing The Florist in North America, although the supplied announcement does not provide a specific theatrical or streaming release date.
For now, the newly released trailer is the main look at what the movie has in store. With Dennis Quaid leading the cast and Jean Reno adding his own history with assassin roles, The Florist has the ingredients of a potentially entertaining action thriller.
The movie also arrives at a time when audiences remain interested in stories about older protagonists discovering that their violent past isn’t quite finished with them.
Final Thoughts
The Florist takes a familiar action-movie idea and gives it an unexpectedly gentle disguise. Carl Rikker looks like an ordinary horticulturist, but behind that peaceful exterior is a professional assassin who has spent years trying to live a different life.
Dennis Quaid’s casting is what makes the concept especially intriguing. His character isn’t introduced as a conventional action hero; he’s someone who has deliberately stepped away from violence. The arrival of an unlikely friendship changes that equation and forces him to decide just how far he’ll go to protect the life he’s built.
Add Jean Reno to the cast, a director with action experience, and a trailer that promises plenty of gunfire, and The Florist looks like a movie worth keeping on the radar.
For fans of action thrillers, assassin movies, and revenge-driven stories, Dennis Quaid’s latest transformation could be one of the more unexpected action turns to watch.
Frequently Asked Questions
1.What is The Florist movie about?
The Florist follows Carl Rikker, a quiet horticulturist who secretly works as a ruthless assassin. His peaceful life is threatened after he forms an unexpected friendship with a teenage girl.
2. Who stars in The Florist?
The movie stars Dennis Quaid, Jean Reno, and Sky Katz, with Anna Schafer, Leonidas Gulaptis, and Dylan Flashner also appearing.
3. Who plays the assassin in The Florist?
Dennis Quaid plays Carl Rikker, a former or secretly active assassin who works as a horticulturist during the day.
4. Who directed The Florist?
The Florist was directed by Babak Najafi, who previously directed London Has Fallen.
5. Is The Florist like John Wick?
The movie shares the familiar “ordinary person with a deadly past” setup found in films such as John Wick, but The Florist centers its story on Carl’s secret identity and his relationship with a teenage girl.
7. Who distributes The Florist?
Saban Films is distributing The Florist in North America.
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