EXCLUSIVE: Oscar-winner actor Cuba Gooding Jr. is set to take the lead in The Madness of Judge Jeremiah Doherty, an intense neo-Western thriller written and directed by Nika Agiashvili.
Billed as being in the vein Man on Fire, No Country for Old Men, and Sicario, upcoming production The Madness of Judge Jeremiah Doherty centers on a hardened Texas judge (Gooding Jr.) who survives a brutal cartel assassination attempt only to discover his wife has been kidnapped and is presumed dead.
Abandoning the law, he forges an uneasy alliance with the cartel assassin sent to kill him. Together, they wage a relentless, bullet-riddled campaign of vengeance across the U.S.–Mexico borderlands, battling mercenaries, dirty cops, and outlaw bikers in a desperate quest to find his wife, dead or alive.
The film is slated to begin production in Q1 2026.
It reunites Gooding Jr. with Agiashvili, and Punch It Films, the production company launched at Cannes this year by former UFC Middleweight champion turned actor Michael Bisping (Red Sonja) and Storyman Pictures, the director’s joint outfit with George Finn and producer John Edward Lee.
The L.A. based company aims to blend Bisping’s expansive global MMA reach with a focus on high-impact, elevated storytelling.
Gooding Jr. joined Bisping in Punch It Films’ inaugural feature film, the recently wrapped thriller Atlas King, which is also directed by Agiashvili.
“Working with Cuba on Atlas King was a masterclass in trust, instinct, and presence,” said writer-director Agiashvili.
“He brought a level of intensity and humanity to the role that elevated every scene. From day one, we knew this was the beginning of a deeper collaboration, and Judge Doherty gives us the perfect canvas to build on that creative chemistry.”
Gooding Jr. praised Agiashvili’s directing style.
“Nika is the kind of director who creates real space for actors to live inside the role,” he said. “He doesn’t impose, he invites. On Atlas King, I got to explore, to take risks, and it made the work more honest. I’m excited to reunite with him on Judge Doherty. It’s the kind of story that hits hard, and he’s the filmmaker to tell it.”
Gooding Jr.’s accomplished stage and screen career includes his Academy Award-winning performance as Rod Tidwell in Jerry Maguire as well as his work in Boyz n the Hood, A Few Good Men, As Good as It Gets and Men of Honor.
His Broadway success includes a Tony Award nomination for his role in The Trip to Bountiful as well as two consecutive runs as Billy Finn in the acclaimed production of the musical Chicago both on Broadway as well as the West End stage in London, UK.
