In an era where most female roles in genre cinema are still framed as supporting players, romantic counterweights, or secondary leads, Franzi Schissler’s performance in Kill Code landslike a statement. This is not a girlfriend role. This is not a prestige drama sidestep. This is a full-scale, original IP, cyberpunk action lead — and Schissler owns it.
Set in a brutal near-future surveillance state, Kill Code is directed by Justin Price and positions Schissler front and center as a cyber-operative navigating a world of privatized justice, weaponized technology, and corporate control. The film leans unapologetically into cyberpunk aesthetics — neon-lit decay, oppressive systems, and high-velocity action — drawingcomparisons to Blade Runner and Cyberpunk 2077, while carving out a voice that feels modern, muscular, and commercially confident.
What makes Schissler’s turn so striking is not just her physicality — though she delivers actionwith conviction, precision, and grit — but the authority she brings to the role. She doesn’t borrow credibility from the men around her. She sets the tone. In a genre often dominated by legacy male heroes or superhero adaptations, Schissler stands out as one of the only actresses leading an original cyberpunk action property from the top of the call sheet.
And she does it opposite serious names. Kill Code co-stars Harvey Keitel, Tyrese Gibson, FrankGrillo, and Jacob Artist — performers with deep genre and commercial pedigrees. Yet the filmnever feels like it’s leaning on them for legitimacy. Schissler isn’t framed as an exception or anovelty; she is the engine. The story moves because she moves it.
Backed by Latavius Powell, Kill Code has already gained significant international traction, andindustry response has centered squarely on Schissler’s presence as a marketable action lead. For buyers and creatives alike, she represents something rare: a young, commanding actress capable of anchoring action, fantasy, and comic-book-scale worlds without being absorbed into an existing franchise machine.
That response is echoed by David L. Snyder, the Oscar-nominated production designer whosework on Blade Runner helped define the visual language of cyberpunk cinema.
“Franzi Schissler is the next big superstar — she has the it factor,” Snyder said.
With Kill Code, Schissler plants a flag. This is cyberpunk action driven by a female hero who fights, leads, survives, and commands the screen. Not as a side story. As the story.
And if this film is any indication, the conversation around the next generation of action leads —whether in the worlds of superheroes, comic-book adaptations, streaming tentpoles, or original genre IP — will include Franzi Schissler at the center.