Swedish action hero Dolph Lundgren will be doing double duty in Vancouver this October when he directs and stars in Icarus, a $6-million action thriller backed by Vancouver’s Insight Film Studios.

‘Dolph had just finished directing a picture with Sony, and he wanted to direct another one, so our foreign distributor, CineTel [Films], hooked him up with us,’ says Insight CEO and producer Kirk Shaw. Lundgren has helmed a few pictures, including Sony’s 2007 action pic Missionary Man.

Lundgren – best known for his roles in Rocky IV, The Punisher and Universal Soldier – was flown up to Vancouver and, over dinner with Shaw, the two sealed the deal. ‘He’s a very, very smart guy. You never know when you meet these guys, I can name a few that aren’t – but I won’t,’ Shaw laughs.

According to Shaw, Lundgren liked what he saw in Vancouver, which plays a pivotal role in the film. ‘We did location scouting around Vancouver, picking locations before the final writing of the script. We had the story, but now, with locations in mind, the script is being written.’

Lundgren plays a Russian-trained hit man, who tries to balance his secret past life with a new life as the father of a suburban U.S. family, who are oblivious to his past. It all unravels when his family are used as pawns in a game of international kill or be killed.

Shaw estimates cameras will roll for five weeks, with five months to post. ‘We’ll sell it to Super Channel. It’s not finalized yet, but we have a very positive relationship with them.’

CineTel’s Paul Hertzberg and Lisa Hansen are on board as executive producers.

Shaw isn’t setting his sights on a theatrical release – yet. Most of Insight’s productions are made with a going-to-DVD philosophy. ‘When we make the film, we have a wait and see what it looks like to see whether it will end up as a theatrical release,’ says Shaw.

Icarus is one of 35 movies Insight is slated to put out this year. ‘We’re behind schedule but building a momentum,’ says Shaw.