EXCLUSIVE: Top Gun: Maverick and Thunderbolts* star Lewis Pullman is putting on his helmet for Kaitlyn Mikayla‘s coming-of-age motocross drama Ragamuffin.

The pic reps Mikayla’s feature directorial debut and is based on her short film that Oscar-nominated producer David Permut caught at Sundance. He will produce Ragamuffin under his Permut Presentations with Alex Astrachan. Pre-production and financing for the film is underway.

The Hacksaw Ridge producer has a knack for discovering talent at the Robert Redford-founded festival (and others), developing projects with them, only to return in an even bigger way. Permut first met Will McCormack and Rashida Jones in Park City years ago and later landed them to pen The Invite, which was Sundance’s biggest sale out of this year’s festival at $10M+ to A24. That pic opened on June 26 in limited release.

Ragamuffin follows Mad Mike (Pullman) and his 14-year old daughter, an aspiring motocross champion, as she competes in a tournament over the course of a summer. The original short film, which is inspired by Mikayla’s own experience in the world of motocross, was executive produced by 4x Oscar nominee Jason Reitman, and earned such honors as Kodak Best Shot on Film (16mm) at HollyShorts and Best Narrative Short at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival, along with prizes from other fests.

Mikayla most recently was featured as one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film. She’s directed, shot and edited international campaigns for brands including Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, Barneys New York, Juicy Couture, Nautica, Nine West, Lucky Brand and more.

“Lewis brings a rare emotional depth and authenticity to every role he inhabits,” said Mikayla.

“Inspired by, and named after, my own father, finding the right actor carried enormous weight,” she added. “Lewis has an extraordinary ability to communicate entire worlds beneath the surface, and I couldn’t be more excited to have him bring Mad Mike to life on screen.”

Permut calls Mikayla “part of the next great generation of filmmakers. It’s a privilege to be working with Kaitlyn. I think the emotionality of the relationship between Mad Mike and his daughter, against the backdrop of the intense world of motocross, will be an exhilarating experience for the audience.”

The producer, in addition to Olivia Wilde’s The Invite, has had a string of movies premiere at Sundance including Twinless, directed by and starring James Sweeney alongside Dylan O’Brien, which was acquired by Roadside Attractions after its 2025 premiere. There was also the Jack Black-starring, Maya Forbes-directed The Polka King, which sold to Netflix out of the 2017 Park City fest.

The Emmy-nominated Pullman is repped by CAA and Anonymous Content. The actor also recently starred in Netflix’s Remarkably Bright Creatures and Wishful Thinking, which took home the narrative feature prize at SXSW this year.

Mikayla is repped by WME and Kaplane/Perrone Entertainment. Permut is repped by John Tishbi at Pearlman and Tishbi.