Omari Hardwick joins cast of action-thriller 'Empire City'

Friday, January 16, 2026 at 5:30 PM

Omari Hardwick attends the Los Angeles special screening of 'Xeno' at The Culver Theater on September 16, 2025, in Culver City, California. (Photo by Robin L Marshall/Getty Images)

You may know him as James "Ghost" St. Patrick in the Starz series Power, but in the upcoming action-thriller Empire City, Omari Hardwick will take on the role of Hawkins.

Hawkins will serve as the antagonist to Gerard Butler's Rhett, a firefighter "who, alongside his squad and his NYPD wife Dani (Hayley Atwell), must fight and navigate his way through the building to rescue captives trapped inside," according to Deadline.

Mel Jarnson will star as Hawkins’ right-hand operative, Leda; Tre Hale, Michael Beach, Dominic Bogart, Stephen Murphy and Jack DiFalco will play members of Rhett's squad.

The film, directed by Michael Matthews, is currently in production in Melbourne, Australia.

Omari is also set to star in Star Trek: Section 31, premiering Jan. 24 on Paramount+; Prime Video’s Muhammad Ali series The Greatest; and the Bosch prequel series Start Of Watch for MGM+.