Relay (film)

Relay is a 2024 American thriller film produced and directed by David Mackenzie and written by Justin Piasecki. It stars Riz Ahmed, Lily James, and Sam Worthington.

Relay
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	David Mackenzie
Written by	Justin Piasecki
Produced by	Gillian Berrie Basil Iwanyk David Mackenzie Teddy Schwarzman
Starring	Riz Ahmed Lily James Sam Worthington
Cinematography	Giles Nuttgens
Edited by	Matt Mayer
Music by	Tony Doogan
Production companies	Black Bear Pictures Thunder Road Films Sigma Films
Distributed by	Bleecker Street
Release dates	September 8, 2024 (2024-09-08) (TIFF) August 22, 2025 (2025-08-22) (United States)
Running time	112 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English

It had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2024, and it is scheduled to be released theatrically on August 22, 2025.

Synopsis

Tom (Ahmed) is a secretive "fixer" who brokers payoffs on behalf of corrupt corporations. Sarah (James) is a potential client who may need his protection.^[2]

Cast

• Riz Ahmed as Tom / Ash
• Lily James as Sarah Grant
• Sam Worthington as Dawson
• Willa Fitzgerald^[3] as Rosetti
• Matthew Maher as Hoffman
• Victor Garber as McVie
• Eisa Davis as Wash
• Jared Abrahamson as Ryan

Production

Justin Piasecki's screenplay, originally titled The Broker, was featured on the 2019 "Black List" of most-liked unproduced screenplays.^[4][5] It is directed by David Mackenzie. The film is produced by Mackenzie, Thunder Road's Basil Iwanyk, Sigma Films' Gillian Berrie and Black Bear Pictures' Teddy Schwarzman.^[6]

Casting

In February 2023, Riz Ahmed and Lily James were cast in the film.^[7] In April 2023, Sam Worthington was confirmed as a member of the cast, and was pictured on set in New York.^[8][9]

Filming

Principal photography began in New York City in April 2023.^[10] Filming locations were also set to include Jersey City, New Jersey.^[11][12]

Release

Relay had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2024. In November 2024, Bleecker Street acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film.^[13] It is set to be released on August 22, 2025.^[14] It was previously set to be released in the second quarter of 2025.^[15]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 82% of 28 critics' reviews are positive.^[16] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 69 out of 100, based on nine critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.^[17]