'Game of Thrones' Star Takes Aim in Trailer for Action Thriller 'Ballistic'
- 7 days ago
- 2 min read
Published Mar 30, 2026, 9:19 AM EDT
Game of Thrones alum Lena Headey takes the intense presence and ruthlessly protective parental instincts that made her such a standout in the HBO fantasy phenomenon and molds them into a force for good rather than evil in a tale of a vengeful mother. Headey is now best known for her Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated role as the villainous Cersei Lannister throughout Game of Thrones and brings that same level of ferocity as she picks up a rifle in the first trailer for the upcoming action thriller, Ballistic.
Written and directed by newly emerging filmmaker Chad Faust, who is best-known for on-screen roles on the small screen in the likes of House, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and the underrated science fiction series The 4400, Ballistic sets Lena Headey on a path for revenge after she discovers that the bullet that killed her son, a soldier serving in Afghanistan, was made at the factory where she works. Fueled by rage, she sets out to find the truth and enact vengeance against those responsible.
The footage puts Lena Headey’s mother, Nance Redfield, front and center, with the former Game of Thrones star demonstrating once again why she became such a scene-stealing, crowd-pleasing, award-winning star during her time spent in Westeros. While the set-up itself is typically no-nonsense, as so many action thriller greats often are, there is a lot bubbling under the surface as Headey’s mother faces the kind of grief no parent ever should amid her quest for revenge. Alongside this, due to ongoing real-world events, the idea behind Ballistic is also rather topical. Unfortunately.
Unlike the best-known action hero parent franchise, Taken, Ballistic looks to offer something far grittier and rawer. Rather than a parent with a particular set of skills, Headey’s avenging mother is just a normal person with nothing left to lose, forced into a horrifyingly abnormal situation that only vigilantism can rectify.Starring Amybeth McNulty (Stranger Things), Hamza Haq (Transplant), Jordan Kronis (Chucky), Amanda Brugel (The Handmaid's Tale), Enrico Colantoni (Galaxy Quest), Paolo Mancini (Interview with the Vampire), and Kendall Christie (Tales from the Void), alongside Headey, with Chad Faust also set to feature in a small role, Ballistic is now all set to hit select Theaters and On Demand on April 17, 2026.
While the five-time Emmy Award-nominated Lena Headey may not have seen too much action in the fist-fighting, sword-fighting sense during Game of Thrones, the actress is no stranger to the genre. She has swung a sword like a pro in both Zack Snyder’s battle epic 300 and its sequel 300: Rise of an Empire, as well as giving Karl Urban’s Judge Dredd a hard time as the villain of 2012’s criminally underrated comic book movie, Dredd. Alongside Ballistic, Headey is all set to star alongside Better Call Saul and Nobody star Bob Odenkirk’s latest action movie offering, Normal, which is also due to land in theaters on April 17, making for the perfect Headey-led thriller double-bill.
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