Film Threat’s Chris Gore and Alan Ng sat down with director Uwe Boll and star Armie Hammer to talk about their new film Citizen Vigilante, a gritty, ripped-from-the-headlines throwback to ’70s vigilante classics like Death Wish. Hammer plays a self-appointed enforcer who targets criminals and the powerful figures he believes let crime run unchecked, in a film Boll describes as deliberately blunt about issues most people only debate on talk shows. The conversation ranges from how the film originally started under a different, much more famous-sounding title, to Hammer’s surprising return to acting after a turbulent few years, to Boll’s signature run-and-gun shooting style in Croatia — plus a few welcome detours into Hammer’s near-miss as Batman and his time on The Lone Ranger with Johnny Depp.
Boll explained that the script for Citizen Vigilante was originally titled The Dark Knight — yes, really — before Hammer pointed out the obvious problem. “You’re calling it The Dark Knight?” Hammer recalled asking, to which Boll simply shrugged, saying, “You can’t copyright a title.” Beyond the name, what hooked Hammer was the tone: a lean, contained pulp story with violence and a message, originally clocking in at a slim 60 pages. That brevity became part of the film’s identity. Rather than padding the script artificially, Boll let the production stay loose, adjusting and improvising on location until it grew to around 75 pages. “We’ll figure it out. We’ll get out there. We’ll do it,” is how Hammer remembers Boll’s attitude going in — and that looseness defined the whole shoot.
“I felt people are in the mood for a vigilante, but not this kind of bullshit vigilante, where it’s all fictional.”
That shoot took place in Zagreb, Croatia, a city Boll has used for several previous productions and one he praises for its film-friendly infrastructure. Hammer’s first day on set captures the spirit of the whole production: he arrived the night before filming, and Boll called his hotel room to say they’d just go out the next day and shoot wherever looked good — streets, buildings, parking lots, whatever worked. No elaborate setup, just Boll, Hammer, and a cameraman. “I wasn’t gonna bring up the permit thing, but I said to Uwe, I was like, ‘Do we have permits for this?'” Hammer joked. Boll’s answer was basically a shrug — and that informal style extended through the whole shoot, which leaned on handheld cameras and gimbal work rather than dollies and tracks, moving fast and loose in the spirit of true independent filmmaking. Hammer and Boll both point to the production’s social rhythm as a highlight in itself: wrapping early most days so the cast and crew could go enjoy a great meal together at night.
The film’s premise is intentionally provocative. Boll says he wanted to make a movie about vigilante justice that wasn’t sanitized or fictional in its violence — something that actually reflects mafia activity, sexual assault, and a justice system he feels routinely fails to prosecute real offenders. He’s careful to note that Hammer’s character isn’t a clean-cut hero; there are moments in the film, Boll says, where audiences may feel the character has gone too far, and that ambiguity is the point. It’s meant to provoke a real question about the limits of self-justice rather than offer easy answers. That instinct toward bluntness has already created friction: Boll revealed that Citizen Vigilante was denied any official rating in Germany at all — not even the equivalent of an NC-17 — despite having a distributor lined up. He didn’t hold back his frustration with what he sees as expanding censorship in Europe, calling the decision absurd.
“It just felt like making a true independent film, where it’s let’s figure out the problems. What do we gotta do? Now let’s go do it.”
Much of the conversation also turned to Hammer’s return to the screen after a few difficult years out of the spotlight. Alan Ng told Hammer directly that he’d watched a number of his recent interviews and respects how he’s handled the past year, calling forgiveness and grace powerful things — sentiments Hammer accepted warmly and thanked him for. Boll, for his part, was even more pointed in his defense of casting Hammer. He explained that he’d watched Hammer’s appearance on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast, where Hammer discussed the controversy that derailed his career, and came away convinced the backlash was unwarranted. Knowing Hammer had no agent or manager at the time, Boll reached out directly through his attorney with an offer to fly to Croatia and shoot the film — a phone call Hammer says he accepted before even asking how much it paid.
The two also touched on Boll’s busy slate beyond this film, including two completed sequels to his series First Shift awaiting release on Paramount+, and a new unofficial follow-up to his cult horror title House of the Dead, bringing back original stars Jonathan Cherry and Ohna Grauer more than two decades later. Hammer, meanwhile, reflected on near-misses and high points from his career, including his almost-realized run as Batman in a George Miller film derailed by the 2007 writers’ strike, his admiration for Johnny Depp’s technical command on set during The Lone Ranger, and his enduring wish for a sequel to The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Boll didn’t hold back his own endorsement either, floating Hammer as his pick for the next James Bond.
There’s plenty more in the full conversation — including audience questions, a look at the trailer, and Boll’s unfiltered take on critics, permits, and the realities of independent filmmaking in 2026. Citizen Vigilante hits theaters and digital platforms June 19.
