‘Society of the Snow’ Director Sets New Netflix Film ‘Un Fantasma En La Batalla’

Picture courtesy of Netflix

It probably doesn’t need to be repeated that Society of the Snow was a big hit for Netflix. It still sits at the second most-watched Netflix Original international movie debut of all time, behind the Norwegian movie Troll. So, it was probably inevitable that Netflix would reteam with the director for his next project. Netflix confirmed today he will be producing a new political thriller: Un Fantasma En La Batalla (which translates to A Ghost in Battle).

Production is underway on the new Spanish-language movie from director Agustín Díaz Yanes, best known for Captain Alatriste: The Spanish Musketeer, Nobody Will Speak of Us When We’re Dead, and Walking Vengeance. Belén Atienza, Sandra Hermida, and J.A. Bayona are producing the new film.

Drawing on the real-life stories of various Guardia Civil members actively combating terrorism and set against the historical, political, and social backdrop of the 1990s and 2000s, “Un fantasma en la Batalla” narrates the tale of Amaia, a young civil guard. Amaia dedicates over ten years to working undercover within ETA to uncover the group’s hideouts in Southern France.

Among the cast for the new movie (seen in the picture at the top of the article includes:

• Susana Abaitua (Patria, I Know Who You Are)
• Andrés Gertrúdix (Morir, Timecrimes)
• Iraia Elias (Advantages of Traveling by Train, The Giant)
• Raúl Arévalo (The Fury of a Patient Man, Marshland)
• Ariadna Gil (Pan’s Labyrinth)

Picture via Netflix

Celebrating the fact that the first day of filming had begun, Agustín Díaz Yanes said:

“Talking about a film before shooting it is an exercise in tightrope walking for which I don’t feel ready. So, instead of talking about the future, I prefer to talk about the past. About five years ago Belén Atienza asked me to write a story about ETA. Months later I gave her a first version of a script that told the story of a female undercover agent of the Guardia Civil, a character based on the different stories and experiences of several moles -women and men- that the Guardia Civil managed to embed in ETA. Belén asked me for the story to be something more than a thriller and, as the days go by, it is becoming increasingly clear to me that Un fantasma en la batalla is not only going to be about the eventful lives of its main characters, I also hope that the unlived lives (as Javier Marías would say) will be felt, the lives that could have been and were not all its characters,”

The announcement comes a day after Netflix ES debuted information about La Desconocida from writer Rosa Montero on its social media account. A couple of months after the Spanish Next on Netflix reveals where the streamer previewed some of the upcoming titles in 2024 and beyond.

Una mujer sin memoria, una inspectora de policía experta en tráfico de seres humanos y un agente francés que desentrañará la investigación junto a ella. La película ‘La Desconocida’ adaptará la novela homónima de Rosa Montero (@BrunaHusky) y Olivier Truc.

📸 Isabel Wagemann pic.twitter.com/Uw1Bz1Nng9

— Netflix España (@NetflixES) April 15, 2024

We’ll have more on the film as and when we get it!