Peace Arch Entertainment Group has started principal photography on the action film Weapon in Hamilton, Ontario.

UFC Middleweight champion Rich Franklin, Bruce Greenwood and Tiffani Thiessen will star in the story of a US border patrol agent who apprehends a genetically enhanced super-soldier who is being pursued by his creator.

John Stead is directing from a screenplay by Peace Arch president and COO John Flock and Christopher Warre Smets. Joshua Gray is producing and Jacqueline Kelly, Barbara Sacks, Kate Harrison and Lewin Webb serve as executive producers.

Peace Arch will distribute in Canada and is handling worldwide sales. A US deal is believed to be imminent.

'Our representation of Weapon is consistent with Peace Arch's strategy of building one of the largest independent film and television libraries in the world through high-volume production and third-party acquisitions,' Flock said.