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Apex: Charlize Theron faces a deadly cat-and-mouse hunt in Netflix’s 2026 survival thriller

22/12/2025 12:43 - UPDATED 22/12/2025 12:43
Apex Netflix
Charlize Theron in Apex. Picture Credit: Netflix

Grief sends her into the wild. The wilderness decides whether she gets out alive. In Apex, Netflix drops a grieving woman into the vast Australian outback, where the promise of solitude collapses into a ruthless game of cat and mouse. The terrain is not scenery here but an active threat, pressing in with heat, distance, and isolation as survival becomes a matter of instinct rather than strength.

Led by Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton, and directed by Baltasar Kormákur, Apex strips the survival thriller down to endurance and psychological pressure. Shot across the rugged landscapes of New South Wales, Australia, the film leans on real terrain and physical exposure, turning nature itself into the story’s most unforgiving adversary. Here is everything you need to know about Apex – from the plot and cast to release date.

Apex: all the key details

What Apex is about

Apex follows a grieving woman who seeks solace in the wilderness, only to become ensnared in a deadly game of cat and mouse with a serial killer. What begins as an attempt to disappear into nature turns into a sustained fight for survival, where movement, timing, and judgment decide who lasts.
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The film is being shot in the rugged landscapes of New South Wales, Australia, home of the Blue Mountains. “For a film like Apex — where the elements and the terrain are characters that loom just as large as the movie stars battling in it — no other country in the world could have taken the place of Australia as our primary location,” Kormákur told Tudum. “The unrivaled landscape, studio facilities, and talented crews in New South Wales have been a boon to this production. I want to thank the people of NSW, the NSW government, and the Australian Government’s Location Offset for all the support we’ve received in making this journey possible.”

Apex cast: the main characters

Charlize Theron anchors the film at its physical and emotional center, portraying a woman forced to rely on instinct and resilience as the wilderness closes in. Taron Egerton co-stars as the force driving the pursuit, while Eric Bana completes the principal trio, adding weight and volatility to a story built on pursuit and counter-moves.

Apex Netflix
Taron Egerton and Charlize Theron in Apex. Picture Credit: Netflix

Is Apex based on a true story?

Apex is a fictional story. Netflix has presented the film as an original survival thriller rather than an adaptation of real events or existing source material.

Why watch Apex

If you enjoyed The Revenant or Calibre, this film fits naturally into that space, blending wilderness survival with a ruthless human threat and a tone that prizes tension over excess.

Apex release date on streaming

Available soon. Apex will begin streaming on Netflix.
Release date: April 24, 2026.
Watch on Netflix

Stephen Ogongo

Stephen Ogongo

Stephen Ogongo is the main writer for Streamingmania and a senior manager at New European Media. Originally from Kenya, he previously founded and directed Afronews.eu and has taught journalism at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. His work blends editorial expertise with a deep understanding of global media and storytelling.