EXCLUSIVE:   Gugu Mbatha-Raw is set for the female lead opposite Kevin Hart in the Netflix action thriller Lift . Rounding out the cast are Vincent D’Onofrio, Billy Magnussen , Úrsula Corberó, Yun Jee Kim , Viveik Kalra and Paul Anderson. F. Gary Gray will direct the pic, with Dan Kunka penning the script. Netflix landed the package last year.

Mbatha-Raw beat out a number of actresses for the role that had become one of the more coveted parts for young female stars in recent weeks. She is coming off strong reviews for her role in the hit Marvel series Loki  and has  Surface  bowing this summer on Apple TV+.

The film is produced by  Simon Kinberg  and Audrey Chon for Genre Pictures,  Matt Reeves and Adam Kassan for 6th & Idaho, and Hart and Brian Smiley for HartBeat Productions. 6th & Idaho currently has The Batman  in theaters, which has dominated the month of March at the box-office, and Genre’s  Invasion  just finished it’s first season on Apple TV+.

Gray, Brent O’Connor and Patricia Braga are exec producing.

Hart will play a master thief who is wooed by his ex-girlfriend and the FBI to pull off an impossible heist with his international crew on a 777 flying from London to Zurich.

Lift  falls under Hart and HartBeat Productions’ creative partnership with Netflix . They are in production on comedy Me Time, starring Mark Wahlberg and Regina Hall.

Mbatha-Raw is repped by CAA, Anonymous Content and Curtis Brown Group. Magnussen is withj UTA, Anonymous Content and Sloane Offer. D’Onofrio is repped by UTA and Silver Lining Entertainment, Kalra is represented by CAA and in the UK by 42. Anderson is repped by CAA and Kim is managed by Chris S. Lee at B&C Content.