As the song goes, “You better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout…” We’re telling you why – Santa Claus is not just coming to town. He’s going to town battling baddies who decide to take hostage and rob a wealthy family.
‘Stranger Things’ David Harbour stars here as Father Christmas, who when we first meet him in the trailer, is drowning his sorrows. He’s the OG Santa, and has been at this game a long time, starting to lose some self-belief.
What could restore his Christmas spirit? Try showing up at the home of young Trudy Lightstone (Leah Brady), whose wealthy family have gathered at their remote compound to celebrate the season.
(L to R) Jason (Alex Hassell), Gertrude (Beverly D’Angelo), Alva (Edi Patterson), Linda (Alexis Louder), Trudy (Leah Brady) and Santa (David Harbour) in ‘Violent Night,’ directed by Tommy Wirkola.
Yet when their party is rudely interrupted by a group of mercenaries led by John Leguizamo’s Ben – a gang who want to rob the family of the $300 million sitting in their vault – Santa will have to dish out some season’s beatings.
Expect a lot of Christmas puns in this one, which comes across as ‘Die Hard’ meets ‘Bad Santa’. While Harbour’s take on the character isn’t as badly behaved as Billy Bob Thornton’s, he’s certainly not your average, jolly Kris Kringle. This Santa knows how to fight.
With David Leitch – who became friends with Wirkola after running second unit and stunts for him on ‘Hansel & Gretel’ – producing alongside his partner Kelly McCormick and their 87North company, you know the combat scenes are going to be intense and inventive.
Boasting a host of Christmas decorations around to use as weapons, Santa will be dishing out rough justice to all those the naughty list, and even swapping out the usual lump of coal for a grenade down someone’s pants. Christmas lights, decorations and candy canes are all utilized to take out the baddies.
David Harbour in ‘Violent Night,’ directed by Tommy Wirkola.
Expect a load of references and Easter Eggs – though perhaps that should be Christmas baubles – to other festive films here, including ‘Home Alone’ and as mentioned above, ‘Die Hard’.
The tone is silly fun with a side order of furious chaos; after all, how many other films have Santa beating someone up with a sock filled with pool balls and then a joke about stepping in reindeer poop? You know what you did, Prancer.
With a script by ‘Sonic The Hedgehog’ franchise veterans Pat Casey and Josh Miller, ‘Violent Night’ will be in theaters on December 2nd. Always bet on red…
(L to R) David Harbour and director Tommy Wirkola on the set of ‘Violent Night.’(L to R) David Harbour and John Leguizamo on the set of ‘Violent Night.’
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The movie has been in development for a while now, with Leitch waiting until he finished work on ‘Bullet Train’ before starting prep on this next project.
Originally created by prolific TV producer Glen A. Larson (whose prolific TV production factory also cranked out shows such as ‘Buck Rogers’, ‘Battlestar Galactica’ and ‘Knight Rider’), ‘The Fall Guy’ ran between 1981 and 1986, and starred Lee Majors as Colt Seavers (none more ‘80s action hero name there).
When his movie work starts to dry up, Seavers pivots to become a bounty hunter, using all the know-how he’s acquired to craft film action to track down and defeat swindlers, thieves, bikers, conmen, fugitives, and corrupt officials using his fists and his vehicle skills.
Majors starred alongside Douglas Barr and Heather Thomas as Colt’s colleagues Howie Munson and Jody Banks, who helped him out on his missions. Though the show was often a giant slab of ‘80s cheese TV, the concept clearly has legs.
(L to R) Heather Thomas and Lee Majors in ‘The Fall Guy.’ Photo courtesy of IMDB.
This new version first emerged in 2020 (then known as “unknown stuntman movie”), with Gosling and Leitch aboard. ‘The Fall Guy’ is now coming together partly because the Australian government is offering $45 million in incentives to have the movie shoot in Sydney.
Leitch feels like the right man for this job, since he’s someone who has spun a career as a successful stuntman into an even more impressive run of directing action movies, will be behind the camera for the new movie. He’ll bring his own experience to the idea, having spent years doubling the likes of Brad Pitt and Jean-Claude Van Damme before making movies such as ‘John Wick’, ‘Atomic Blonde’, ‘Deadpool 2’ and more. Gosling has recently shown he can do the action star thing in ‘The Gray Man’, which Netflix is celebrating as a big hit, with sequels and spin-offs on the way.
And Blunt is no slouch when she tries her hand at action thriller field – most notably as the tough Rita “Rose” Vrataski, a no-nonsense soldier engaged in combat against an alien threat in ‘Edge of Tomorrow.’ It says something when an actor can hold their own against Tom Cruise.
We don’t yet know what the story will be for the new movie (presumably some take on the show’s concept), or exactly who Gosling and Blunt will play. But you can be sure the action will be next level (Leitch is truly an old hand at that stuff) and probably with a throughline of humor like ‘Bullet Train.’
All that is concrete so far is that Universal has set this one for a March 1st, 2024 launch in theaters.
(L to R) Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Brad Pitt in Sony Pictures’ ‘Bullet Train.’
‘Bullet Train’, which opens in theaters today, looks to add some violent fun to a summer movie season that hasn’t had too many original films on its schedule.
Which isn’t to say that the movie is completely original, as Zak Olkewicz’ script adapts Kôtarô Isaka’s novel ‘Maria Beetle’.
Anchored by a laconic but funny performance from Brad Pitt, ‘Bullet Train’ is the story of Ladybug, an assassin who got out of the game and sought out a therapist after bad luck seemed to haunt his every job. Now, he’s back and looking for a relatively easier job for his first new assignment.
(L to R) Brad Pitt and Sandra Bullock star in ‘Bullet Train.’ Photo: Scott Garfield. Copyright (C) 2022 CTMG. All Rights Reserved.
His handler, Maria (Sandra Bullock, who is primarily heard over a phone line) assures him that grabbing a briefcase from a bullet train and getting off at the next station should offer him no real challenge.
Of course, it doesn’t work out that way at all. Turns out, the briefcase has connections to the kidnapping of a lethal crime lord’s son (Michael Shannon is the boss known as “White Death”, while Logan Lerman is his slacker kid), and a variety of other assassins.
Prime among them are Lemon (Brian Tyree Henry) and Tangerine (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), adoptive siblings who are also two of the most notorious hitmen around, who have rescued Lerman’s character and retrieved the ransom money – which is in the briefcase Ladybug has been sent to grab.
Elsewhere on the train is Kimura (Andrew Koji), looking for revenge on the person who injured his son, The Prince (Joey King), a young woman who uses her youth as a weapon as much as any gun or knife, The Wolf (Benito A Martínez Ocasio), with his own vengeful quest and The Hornet (Zazie Beetz), with a specific target for her poisonous talents.
Brad Pitt stars in ‘Bullet Train.’ Photo: Scott Garfield. Copyright: (C) 2022 CTMG. All Rights Reserved.
With Leitch in charge of the chaos (it’s worth remembering that he, along with Chad Stahelski, helped turn Keanu Reeves into a badass assassin for the first ‘John Wick’ movie), ‘Bullet Train’ is naturally crammed with inventive action. Leitch has spent his career performing stunts, coordinating them and now directing them and he knows how to craft a fun sequence that in places has echoes of Jackie Chan’s use of props as weapons.
There has also clearly been a lot of training involved, so the cast (and their stunt teams) throw themselves into the various fights and plot turns. It’s diverting to see the likes of Brian Tyree Henry, not normally known for his action work, give it their all.
Leitch and co., meanwhile have built a slick-looking set that keeps the action condensed and focused, cinematographer Jonathan Sela’s camera roaming the aisles and, later in the movie, heading outside the train to follow the combat as characters
Where it all goes off the rails (literally, at one point) is in the characters. Though some are handed backgrounds (Taylor-Johnson and Henry in particular), mostly the movie lets fists fill in the details.
(L to R) Bryan Tyree Henry and Aaron Taylor-Johnson star in Sony’s ‘Bullet Train.’ Photo: Scott Garfield.
The problem with prioritizing fight scenes over story is that the latter can’t completely carry the former, and when you have an entire sequence explaining how a water bottle came to be crucial to the plot and yet seems to rely on coincidence to make it work, you’re in trouble.
This is a movie that is all surface and little substance, and while that’s not the sort of dilemma that troubles summer movie audiences too much, ‘Bullet Train’ starts to feel like a numbing collection of traits, quirks and insults, like a movie conceived by some teenagers who figured they could write the ultimate script with all the stabbing, shooting, punches and kicks they could put into one movie.
Cliches crop up all over the place, including the henchman who show up at every station to threaten Ladybug and co., snarling about handing over the briefcase (which serves as a McGuffin in more ways than one).
And given the Japanese setting, it leans heavily on cliched iconography and the movie is relatively light on Asian faces. When they do appear, they’re given stereotypical roles and dialogue, while the Westerners (there a few fake British accents here among the Americans) get the lion’s share of the screen time.
(L to R) Bryan Tyree Henry and Brad Pitt star Sony’s in ‘Bullet Train.’ Photo: Scott Garfield.
Everyone is clearly having a blast beating each other up or figuring out how to survive as the train speeds to its destination, but while that’s fun for a while, it doesn’t always translate to the whole journey of the movie.
Pitt makes a solid stab at breathing life into Ladybug, who is obsessed with fate and luck, and really would rather not get into scraps (but is very adept when he does). And his chemistry with old real-life friend Bullock overcomes the fact that she’s largely off screen.
Likewise Taylor-Johnson and Henry, who generate real squabbling sibling energy but can’t quite make their characters feel more than archetypes. And King (despite some accent issues) makes for a cold, calculating killer.
Shannon gets to parlay his steely menace effectively, making the most of a relatively brief screen time allotment.
Brad Pitt stars in ‘Bullet Train.’ Photo: Scott Garfield. Copyright:(C) 2022 CTMG. All Rights Reserved.
The likes of Ocasio (normally found performing in the music sphere as Bad Bunny) and Hiroyuki Sanada (who plays Koji’s character’s father) are largely wasted in nothing roles.
There are also a couple of big celebrity cameos that we won’t spoil here, and the reveal of Beetz’ character is at least entertaining.
Imagine a crossbreed of Guy Ritchie’s repartee-filled early gangster films with the sort of action-heavy titles for which Leitch has become known and you’ve got the idea for this movie. Some of the comedy works, and a lot of the fight scenes are great, but ‘Bullet Train’ runs out of steam.
‘Bullet Train’ receives 3 out of 5 stars.
Brad Pitt stars in ‘Bullet Train.’ Photo: Scott Garfield. Copyright: (C) 2022 CTMG. All Rights Reserved.
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The movie stars Oscar winner Brad Pitt as Ladybug, an assassin tasked by his handler (Sandra Bullock) with retrieving a valuable briefcase from a bullet train leaving from Tokyo to Kyoto.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Brad Pitt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Bryan Tyree Henry about their work on ‘Bullet Train,’ their wild characters, and working together on the movie.
(L to R) Brad Pitt and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Sony’s ‘Bullet Train.’ Photo: Scott Garfield.
You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Brad Pitt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bryan Tyree Henry, Hiroyuki Sanada, and director David Leitch.
Moviefone: To begin with, Brad your character in the film, Ladybug, believes he’s unlucky. But some would say that he’s actually very lucky and it’s really just all about perspective. What was your perspective on Ladybug?
Brad Pitt: I think you just nailed it. Thank you very much, that was so easy. Yeah, that’s it. I can’t say it any better. He’s just a bit of a whiner.
MF: Your character has a very peaceful approach to his mission. In real life, how does Brad Pitt maintain peace in his life?
BP: I don’t know. Peace. That is the old struggle, isn’t it? I don’t know. I just got some lovely friends. I try to stay in nature. I try to stay creative. I try to stay centered and just relax.
Brian Tyree Henry: It takes a village to raise a Brad Pitt. It’s all hands-on deck. See, you got to make sure that he’s centered. You want to make sure he is taking his vitamins.
MF: Is that what it’s like working on a Brad Pitt movie?
BP: Yeah. They’d give me pep talks when I get down. They’d come up and go, it’s all right, buddy. You got this. I’d go, “Thanks, man.” They were really supportive.
BTH: We really were there for him, man. He’s incredibly needy.
BP: That’s true. I’m a delicate flower, and it’s in my contract too.
(L to R) Bryan Tyree Henry and Aaron Taylor-Johnson star in Sony’s ‘Bullet Train.’ Photo: Scott Garfield. Copyright: (C) 2022 CTMG. All Rights Reserved.
MF: Brian, your character and Aaron’s character are partners in the film and referred to as “the twins.’ Can you talk about their working relationship together?
BTH: You know what, man? I lucked out in the hugest way to have a co-star like Aaron Taylor-Johnson. He was the most amazing scene partner to have and the chemistry between he and I was immediate once we met. David Leitch let us play around with the relationship between Lemon and Tangerine, because we found that between Aaron and me. We just really got along and really cared about each other, so we wanted the audience to go along with that.
We wanted the audience to feel that. We just played. Honestly, I think that characters that you see really caring about each other and having such a good time, it’s undeniable that you have to go along with them. So, that’s what we wanted to bring to both of them because that’s who we were. We were very carefree and wanted to have fun.
MF: Finally, Aaron what was it like for you working with Brad Pitt?
Aaron Taylor-Johnson: I love this man, honestly. It was important for us. But it was also really rare. That doesn’t happen often, but we clicked instantaneously, and it was just magic. This guy’s beautiful.
BP: These guys are so funny in this movie.
(L to R) Bryan Tyree Henry and Brad Pitt star Sony’s in ‘Bullet Train.’ Photo: Scott Garfield.
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Brad Pitt stars in ‘Bullet Train.’ Photo: Scott Garfield. Copyright: (C) 2022 CTMG. All Rights Reserved.
If you’re an assassin by trade, can you really claim that it’s bad luck that people keep dying around you? If you’re Brad Pitt’s character in upcoming action comedy thriller ‘Bullet Train’, you might actually have a point.
The latest trailer for the movie is now online and is full of all the Pitt vs. assassin action you could hope for. It opens with Pitt’s Ladybug – a title given to him by his handle, Maria Beetle (Sandra Bullock), in the hopes that it might mean good luck – ticking off the ways that previous gigs have gone badly wrong. And even times when he’s not actively trying to murder someone, the bodies keep piling up. He’s stressed and looking for a less death-laden life.
Dispatched on what would seem to be a routine, relatively harmless mission to pick up an important briefcase on a Bullet Train in Japan, Ladybug hopes for a quieter time of things. Fate, however, may have other plans, as this latest job puts him on a collision course with lethal adversaries from around the globe – all with connected, yet conflicting, objectives – on the world’s fastest train… And he’s got to figure out how to get off.
Cue fists flying, swords swinging and Pitt nailing Aaron Tylor-Johnson with a bottle of fizzy water. Taylor-Johnson plays Tangerine, one half of a deadly duo with Brian Tyree Henry’s Lemon, with the pair after the very same suitcase. And they are not the only dangerous passengers onboard.
With David Leitch, the stuntman-turned-filmmaker who kickstarted his directing career with ‘John Wick’ and has since made movies including ‘Atomic Blonde’ and ‘Deadpool 2’ in charge here, the movie looks stylish and slyly funny, especially that moment in the quiet car (and Pitt punching a mascot who refuses to give up the case).
And, because this is Leitch we’re talking about, you can naturally expect a lot of inventive action within the cramped confines of the train, as his 87 Eleven stunt team goes to work finding new ways to create chaos.
There’s also a hint that Pitt and some of others (those left standing by the time the train reaches its destination) might actually end up joining forces to combat Shannon’s murderous men. It’s certainly more dangerous than the threat of a cancelled train or a blocked toilet stinking up a whole carriage.
‘Bullet Train’ will pull into theaters on August 5th.
(L to R) Brad Pitt and Sandra Bullock star in ‘Bullet Train.’ Photo: Scott Garfield. Copyright (C) 2022 CTMG. All Rights Reserved.Brad Pitt stars in ‘Bullet Train.’ Photo: Scott Garfield. Copyright: (C) 2022 CTMG. All Rights Reserved.Brad Pitt stars in ‘Bullet Train.’ Photo: Scott Garfield. Copyright: (C) 2022 CTMG. All Rights Reserved.
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Given that he’s already played a stuntman twice before on screen – in 2011’s ‘Drive’ and 2012’s ‘The Place Beyond the Pines’ – you might figure that Ryan Gosling would want to skip future movies about those who fling themselves into cinematic danger.
Yet he’s ready to do it again, with Variety reporting that he’s set to lead an adaptation of the 1980s TV classic ‘The Fall Guy,’ featuring a character played by Lee Majors using his film set skills to fight crime.
And David Leitch, a man who has spun a career as a successful stuntman into an even more impressive run of directing action movies, will be behind the camera for the new movie. He’ll bring his own experience to the idea, having spent years doubling the likes of Brad Pitt and Jean-Claude Van Damme before making movies such as ‘John Wick’, ‘Atomic Blonde’, ‘Deadpool 2’ and more.
The original show, which was created by prolific TV producer Glen A. Larson (who also brought the world series such as ‘Buck Rogers’, ‘Battlestar Galactica’ and ‘Knight Rider’), ran between 1981 and 1986, and starred Majors as Colt Seavers.
When his movie work starts to dry up Seavers pivots to become a bounty hunter, using all the know-how he’s acquired to craft film action to track down and defeat swindlers, thieves, bikers, conmen, fugitives, and corrupt officials. It’s essentially Larson taking his basic show concept and giving it another new twist.
Majors starred alongside Douglas Barr and Heather Thomas as Colt’s colleagues Howie Munson and Jody Banks, who helped him out on his missions. Though the show was often a giant slab of ‘80s cheese TV, the concept clearly has legs.
(L to R) Heather Thomas and Lee Majors in ‘The Fall Guy.’ Photo courtesy of IMDB.
Word about Gosling and Leitch teaming up first broke back in 2020, though the movie was then simply listed as ‘untitled stuntman action drama’.
We still don’t know all that much about how the new movie will channel the show. When Leitch and Gosling were first attached to the film, there was mention of Leitch’s ‘Hobbs & Shaw’ writer Drew Pearce (who also worked on ‘Iron Man 3’ and directed ‘Hotel Artemis’) tackling the screenplay, but Variety’s story doesn’t mention him.
‘The Fall Guy’ is all coming together partly because the Australian government is offering $45 million in incentives to have the movie shoot in Sydney.
Leitch has ‘Bullet Train’ pulling into theaters on August 5th, while Gosling will next be seen in ‘The Gray Man’, the new action movie from directors Joe and Anthony Russo, which will be on limited release in theaters on July 15th, before landing on Netflix on July 22nd.
He’s also been busy filming ‘Barbie’, which stars Margot Robbie and will be out on March 21st next year.
You might have seen the sneaky teaser for new Brad Pitt-starring action thriller ‘Bullet Train’, which purported to be a commercial for Japanese train service Nippon Speed Line. The full trailer has now arrived, which is much more a traditional promo for the movie.
Yes, while the teaser gave itself away earlier thanks to Pitt’s voice-over and his bruised appearance late on, the new trailer offers no such trickery. We’re introduced to his character, an assassin who seems to be tired of the killer life.
In contact with Sandra Bullock’s Maria Beetle, who appears to be his handler, Pitt’s Ladybug is complaining that every time he goes to work, someone dies. Dispatched on what would seem to be a routine, relatively harmless mission to pick up an important briefcase on a Bullet Train in Japan, he hopes for a quieter time of things.
(L to R) Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Brad Pitt in Sony Pictures’ ‘Bullet Train.’
Unbeknownst to him, the deadly duo Tangerine and Lemon are also after the very same suitcase, and they are not the only dangerous passengers onboard.
Satoshi, “the Prince,” with the looks of an innocent school child and the mind of a viciously cunning psychopath, is also in the mix and has history with some of the others. Risk fuels him as does a good philosophical debate… like, is killing really wrong? Chasing the Prince is another assassin with a score to settle for the time the Prince casually pushed a young boy off of a roof, leaving him comatose.
When the five assassins discover they are all on the same train, they realize their missions are not as unrelated as they first appear.
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Cue fists flying, swords swinging and Pitt nailing Aaron Tylor-Johnson with a bottle of fizzy water.
With David Leitch, the stuntman-turned-filmmaker who kickstarted his directing career with ‘John Wick’ and has since made movies including ‘Atomic Blonde’ and ‘Deadpool 2’ in charge here, the movie looks stylish and slyly funny, especially that moment in the quiet car. Plus, the trailer is scored to a Japanese cover of “Staying Alive,” which offers a big nod to the tone that the director’s setting here.
(L to R) Brian Tyree Henry and Brad Pitt in Sony Pictures’ ‘Bullet Train.’
And, because this is Leitch we’re talking about, you can naturally expect a lot of inventive action within the cramped confines of the train, as his 87 Eleven stunt team goes to work finding new ways to create chaos.
Pitt’s never one to shy away from throwing himself into action (he’ll be in even spoofier form – and once again working with Sandra Bullock – in ‘The Lost City’, due on March 25), but this looks like another level for him.
‘Bullet Train’ will pull into theaters on July 15. The big question is, who will survive and what will be left of them? Which is not something you usually hear on an Amtrak train.
Brad Pitt in Sony Pictures’ ‘Bullet Train.’
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Brad Pitt in Sony’s ‘Bullet Train.’ Photo Courtesy of YouTube.
When is a commercial for a relaxed-looking transportation service not a commercial for a relaxed-looking transportation service? When it’s very clearly also a viral marketing video for new action thriller ‘Bullet Train.’
And how do we know this? Why don’t we think this is simply Brad Pitt in one of those famous commercials featuring a Hollywood star pitching a product to Asian audiences they hope Western eyes never see? Because A) Pitt is the star of ‘Bullet Train’ and B) it’s about a Bullet Train, which is about a big a clue as you could possibly ask for.
Yes, while this purports to promise a smooth ride and a comfortable journey, the quick glimpse at Pitt’s battered face near the end is a real giveaway. Plus, you can imagine that fake train company Nippon Speed Line is the carrier on whose train major mayhem will break out.
‘Bullet Train’, which is on track to arrive this summer via Sony, has a script from ‘Fear Street Part 2’ writer Zak Olkewicz, who adapts Kôtarô Isaka’s novel ‘Maria Beetle’. While the movie has yet to post an official synopsis, we can intuit some of what may make it to screen based on the book’s plot description.
Nanao, nicknamed Lady Bird — the self-proclaimed “unluckiest assassin in the world” — boards a bullet train from Tokyo to Morioka with one simple task: grab a suitcase and get off at the next stop. Unbeknownst to him, the deadly duo Tangerine and Lemon are also after the very same suitcase, and they are not the only dangerous passengers onboard.
Satoshi, “the Prince,” with the looks of an innocent schoolboy and the mind of a viciously cunning psychopath, is also in the mix and has history with some of the others. Risk fuels him as does a good philosophical debate… like, is killing really wrong? Chasing the Prince is another assassin with a score to settle for the time the Prince casually pushed a young boy off of a roof, leaving him comatose.
When the five assassins discover they are all on the same train, they realize their missions are not as unrelated as they first appear.
David Leitch, the stuntman-turned-filmmaker, has a reputation for inventive action, and we can’t wait to see how he pulled off the set-pieces in the tight confines of a train carriage while also observing pandemic protocols. And was the craft service in the restaurant car? Enquiring minds and all that.
The March 2nd date suggests the trailer is due next Wednesday. Assuming there are no problems with the route, ‘Bullet Train’ should chug into theaters on July 15. Best get your tickets in order.
Dwayne Johnson just posted an interview with Leitch talking about how the Hobbs and Shaw movie will be unique in the Fast franchise.
Been years in the making. Good and smart to evolve our Fast & Furious franchise. Lots of hungry and talented people working on this one for the fans. This’ll be fun with @deadpoolmovie director David Leitch. #HobbsAndShaw https://t.co/8TWmgYqHrN
“I think what attracted me to that franchise is they really want to do something different. They understood that I wanted to sort of evolve their world, outside of the Fast world, and give it its own imprint. Obviously, like we did with Deadpool, you’re expanding, you’re evolving, but you’re still being true to the DNA and the core of the characters that people love. I love that challenge, and doing it with Dwayne and Jason is like a dream. Those guys are hardworking, talented actors.”
How “different”? Leitch got a little bit more detailed with CinemaBlend:
“We really do want to set off on our own specific journey with these characters. If you look at the worlds that they come from in the franchise, they’re not from the street racing world. The first movies in Fast, it was all about street racing, and then it became sort of a heist franchise, and then it became a spy franchise. I think Jason’s character is definitely from the spy world, and Dwayne’s character is more of an agent, right? Working with the government. We’re going to lean more into their worlds. But I think we still want the same sort of level of spectacle and fun that the Fast [movies] have.”
(Side note tangent: Talking about Jason Statham in the spy world makes us wonder what his “Spy” character is up to. That scamp.)
Earlier this month, Jason Statham talked to Entertainment Weekly about the Hobbs and Shaw spinoff, staying in a very vague lane, but promising action and humor:
“Yeah, I’m doing a big spin-off movie with Dwayne Johnson, the Rock, who I’m a particular big fan of and good friend of. So I’m going to do a big Hollywood splash with a mate of mine. They’re developing the script right now, so I can’t give you any spoilers on that one. Listen, Dwayne’s got a big appetite for action, and he’s got a great appetite for humor, and I’m sure it will be brimming with both of those things.”
The Hobbs and Shaw movie — which hasn’t confirmed its official title yet — is currently scheduled for release in theaters on August 2, 2019.
You probably know that Leitch also directed “Deadpool 2,” taking over from the first “Deadpool” movie director, Tim Miller.
Leitch tweeted about his new directing gig, and — of course — professional social media troll Ryan Reynolds had to respond:
You promised Deadpool was in this. You said I get to play the no-nonsense Police Chief, who yells at Hobbs for crashing his 58 valve Nissan Sentra into an Olive Garden. Put me in coach.
Yeah, Leitch is *probably* not going to tag Deadpool in for the “Fast” spinoff, although he should. Really. Do it just to see The Rock’s reaction. He had trouble with Vin Diesel’s professionalism? Hold Wade Wilson’s beer.
The Hobbs and Shaw spinoff — which doesn’t have an official title yet, beyond maybe “Hobbs and Shaw” — is currently scheduled for release in theaters on July 26, 2019. “Deadpool 2” opens May 18.
Yeah, Leitch is *probably* not going to tag Deadpool in for the “Fast” spinoff, although he should. Really. Do it just to see The Rock’s reaction. He had