Dead Shot: release date, cast, plot, trailer and all about the Colin Morgan and Felicity Jones movie

Dead Shot is a movie with the Troubles at its heart which stars Colin Morgan and Felicity Jones.
Dead Shot is a movie with the Troubles at its heart which stars Colin Morgan and Felicity Jones. (Image credit: Sky)

Dead Shot is a movie thriller which takes us to the tense and paranoid streets of London in the 1970s, at the time of The Troubles in Northern Ireland. This Sky Original film stars Colin Morgan, alongside Aml Ameen, Felicity Jones, Mark Strong, Sophia Brown and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, and tells the story of a retired Irish paramilitary O’Hara (Colin Morgan) who sees his pregnant wife shot dead by an SAS officer Tempest (Ameen). The IRA man manages to escape but vows to take revenge on the man who tore apart his family. 

The movie, originally called Borderland, was written by Top Boy creator Ronan Bennett and Tom and Charles Guard back in 2012 so it’s taken a while to come to fruition, so we’re delighted we’ll be able to watch it at last. 

Here’s everything you need to know about Dead Shot on Sky Cinema…

Felicity Jones in 1970s London in Dead Shot.

Felicity Jones in 1970s London in Dead Shot. (Image credit: Sky)

Dead Shot release date

Dead Shot arrives in the UK on Sky Cinema and NOW on Friday May 12 2023. US viewers should be able to catch the movie at cinemas.  

Is there a trailer for Dead Shot? 

There's no trailer for Dead Shot at the moment but if Sky releases one, we’ll post in on this page. 

Dead Shot plot

Head back around 50 years to the Troubles in Northern Ireland. When a border ambush goes wrong, a retired Irish paramilitary O’Hara (Colin Morgan) witnesses the fatal shooting of his pregnant wife Carol (Máiréad Tyers) who he's taking to the hospital to give birth. She's been killed by an SAS officer Tempest (Aml Ameen). Somehow, O'Hara manages to outwit the SAS and escape, albeit wounded. But he's out for reveng. Tempest isn't reprimanded by authorities at all. In fact his superior officer (Mark Strong) has him promoted for being such a 'dead shot'. The incident leaves its mark on O'Hara whose dark mission takes him onto the streets of 1970s London.  

Colin Morgan in Dead Shot.

Colin Morgan (on left) in Dead Shot. (Image credit: Sky)

Dead Shot cast — Colin Morgan as O’Hara

The main star of Dead Shot, Colin Morgan plays retired paramilitary man O’Hara desperate for revenge. Colin of course is best known for playing the titular character in the BBC1 fantasy series Merlin. Colin has also starred in Mammals, Humans, We Hunt Together, Belfast and Three Families. He’s also had roles in The Huntsman: Winter’s War, The Fall, Doctor Who and The Crown. Later in 2023, Colin is due to take the lead role in The Killing Kind.

Merlin poster.

Colin Morgan (centre) as Merlin. (Image credit: BBC)

Aml Ameen as Tempest

Aml Ameen plays SAS officer Tempest. He’s previously starred in Kidulthood, I May Destroy You, Yardie and The Porter. He played PC Lewis Hardy in The Bill and has also appeared in EastEnders, Holby City, Silent Witness, Harry’s Law and movie The Maze Runner

Aml Ameen is playing Tempest in Dead Shot.

Aml Ameen playing Tempest in Dead Shot. (Image credit: Sky)

Who else is starring in Dead Shot? 

Some of the characters in Dead Shot are unnamed. The movie also stars Felicity Jones (Rogue One), Mark Strong (1917), Sophia Brown (The Witcher) as O'Hara's new girlfriend Ruth, Máiréad Tyers as O'Hara's murdered wife Carol, Stephen McMillan as Joe Lynch and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor (Avengers: Endgame).

Mark Strong and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor in Dead Shot.

Mark Strong (on left) plays an SAS leader in Dead Shot. (Image credit: Sky Original)

Sophia Brown in Dead Shot.

Sophia Brown as Ruth in Dead Shot. (Image credit: Sky Original)

Behind The Scenes and more on Dead Shot

Dead Shot is directed by Tom and Charles Guard (The Uninvited), who have co-written the movie with Ronan Bennett (Top Boy) and The Guard Brothers. Borderland is an Upper Street, Stylopic, A Piecrust and Highland Midgie Production, produced by Chris Coen, Brian Coffey, Rebecca Brown and Thorsten Schumacher and executive produced by Julia Stuart and Laura Grange at Sky and Norman Merry and Peter Hampden at LipSync.

Nicholas Cannon
TV Content Director on TV Times, What's On TV and TV & Satellite Week

I'm a huge fan of television so I really have found the perfect job, as I've been writing about TV shows, films and interviewing major television, film and sports stars for over 25 years. I'm currently TV Content Director on What's On TV, TV Times, TV and Satellite Week magazines plus Whattowatch.com. I previously worked on Woman and Woman's Own in the 1990s. Outside of work I swim every morning, support Charlton Athletic football club and get nostalgic about TV shows Cagney & Lacey, I Claudius, Dallas and Tenko. I'm totally on top of everything good coming up too.