EXCLUSIVE: Aml Ameen (The Maze Runner, Sense8) has been tapped to play Remy, the lead character in Inside Man 2, a follow-up to the 2006 thriller that starred Denzel Washington and was directed by Spike Lee. The sequel hails from Universal 1440 Entertainment, the production entity of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, and Imagine Entertainment.

MJ Bassett, who has directed episodes for Power, Da Vinci’s Demons, Ash vs. Evil Dead, and Iron Fist, will helm the second installment, which was penned by Brian Brightly.

Released by Universal Pictures, the original had Washington as Detective Keith Frazier, NYPD hostage negotiator who gets involved with a cunning bank robber and heist mastermind (Clive Owen) and a high-powered Manhattan broker (Jodie Foster) in a high-stakes hostage negotiation. It remains Lee’s highest-grossing film, with $88.5 million.

The Inside Man 2 logline: The U.S. Federal Reserve is robbed by a highly organized and cleverly orchestrated team of crooks. With dozens of tourists held hostage during a 10-hour siege, an NYPD hostage negotiator (Ameen) and a federal agent join forces to rescue the hostages and foil the heist.

Ogden Gavanski is producing the pic, which will be released on Netflix as a licensed title and also will be available on other digital platforms.

Ameen was most recently was seen as the lead in Idris Elba’s directorial debut, Yardie, which premiered at Sundance this year. He also set his first feature directing outing with A Night Worth Living.

Ameen is repped by UTA, Independent Talent Group, LINK Entertainment, Bloom Hergott Diemer Rosenthal, and BWR.