Apple to release tense Apple TV+ air-traffic thriller ‘The Flick’
David Joseppi
Posted On 09/11/2025 
Apple Original Films is pressing ahead with The Flick, a high-stakes aviation thriller based on an unpublished short story by writer Matt Hickey, according to The Hollywood Reporter, via AppleInsider.
The film takes place inside the high-pressure world of air-traffic control and follows Sonny Braden, a controller on the brink of burnout. His shift spirals into crisis when a commercial jet reports that its pilot has become unresponsive. With storms closing in and fuel running low, a pregnant passenger is forced into the cockpit, leaving Braden to guide her towards an emergency landing while wrestling with his own collapsing personal life.
The project is described as a “white-knuckle thriller” exploring control, human connection and the thin margin between order and catastrophe.
The film will be produced by Peter Chernin and David Ready for Chernin Entertainment under its growing first-look deal with Apple. Hickey will also serve as a producer. The story was originally developed by Will Malnati’s At Will Media, though a screenwriter has yet to be announced.
The Flick joins a widening slate of collaborations between Apple and Chernin, which previously worked together on the upcoming Jason Momoa series Chief of War and Apple TV+ drama See.
THR notes that while air-traffic control has recently become a topic of national debate amid staffing issues, Apple’s acquisition of the story predates the current headlines.
