Now comedian Nikki Glaser, who had a role in ‘Trainwreck’ is the latest to collaborate more directly with the filmmaker on a new, untitled romantic comedy that Deadline is describing as “edgy.”
Glaser is working on the script with Sean O’Connor, whose credits include ‘Solar Opposites’ and who was one of the contributors to the comedian’s recent stint as host of the Golden Globes (the first for a solo female performer).
As for the movie itself, all we really know at this point is that it’s a romantic comedy that has yet to announce its title.
Chances are some of it will draw from Glaser’s stand-up routine, the most recent special for which she filmed the Fabulous Fox Theatre in her hometown of St. Louis, Missouri and will be on Hulu next year.
She’s also busy with another movie –– co-writing and producing a project for Paramount inspired by the MASH game played by school students (which gets its name from the way it starts off with a player literally writing out the letters ‘M-A-S-H’ to predict whether one will live in a mansion, apartment, shack, or house).
The final project will reportedly be in the vein of ‘Sliding Doors’ with a hint of ‘Jumanji’, where the game becomes reality for one woman.
What else is Judd Apatow working on?
(L to R) Leslie Mann and Judd Apatow arrive on the red carpet of The 90th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Sunday, March 4, 2018. Credit/Provider: Matt Petit / A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: A.M.P.A.S.
Beyond this movie, Apatow is as busy as ever. He was a producer on ‘Poetic License’, which was directed by his daughter, Maude Apatow.
He’s aboard a variety of projects in the works, including one about the cola wars between Coke and Pepsi.
There’s also a Mel Brooks documentary Apatow is working on with Michael Bonfiglio. And those are just the tip of the iceberg.
When will the Nikki Glaser/Judd Apatow movie be in theaters?
Given that it’s in early development, there is no release date on the schedule for the movie. The next step, assuming it gets greenlit, will be to find a director.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Tyriq Withers about his work on ‘HIM’, his first reaction to the screenplay, how he related to the character, quarterback bootcamp, Cam and Isaiah’s relationship and working with Marlon Wayans, director Justin Tipping’s vision for the project, and finding out he won his role from producer Jordan Peele.
Marlon Wayans is Isaiah (back, pointing) and Tyriq Withers is Cam (foreground) in ‘HIM’, directed by Justin Tipping. Photo: Universal Pictures.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.
Tyriq Withers as Cameron Cade in ‘HIM’, directed by Justin Tipping. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Moviefone: To begin with, what was your first reaction to the screenplay and the way it blends professional football with the horror genre?
Tyriq Withers: I think it’s a script that I couldn’t put down. Coming from sports, whether it was soccer and transitioning into college football, it was a dream come true to be able to pick up a script that paid its respects to the sport of football. I think it talked about an athlete that was in pursuit of greatness and I think it just transcends sports in a way where it talks to us all who want to pursue greatness. I think that that road to that can get a little hectic and scary in real life. I think that’s the beauty of horror, where you can really exaggerate or hyperbolize themes and the obstacles it takes to reach that level of greatness.
MF: As a former athlete yourself, could you relate to the pressure on Cam and his dedication and sacrifice to pursue greatness on the field?
TW: I think chasing greatness in the world of sports as Tyriq, it was always rooted in love and family and who I was doing it for was my mom. I think Cam’s story is rooted in that with his parents and specifically his father, that he lost. I think that grief of losing his father pushed him even further because there is no literal validation he could get after his father passed and, “This is what my dad would want.” As an athlete, that’s where I lived and as an artist now, that’s where I live, where I want to prove something to my brother that I lost. I think the world of sports and of college football, the crazy interactions with players or coaches, that is a direct reflection within this movie. Obviously, things are heightened in the film, but I think there are certain feelings. There is a beautiful scene where Marlon’s yelling in my face. He’s saying, “What are you willing to sacrifice?” One of the lines was, “Your father didn’t love you.” I think I’ve come from a world of sports where whether it’s middle school, high school or college, where coaches say things to invoke certain emotions to get a certain performance. That’s not a great way to coach. But I pulled from those experiences and in that scene where I’m saying I want to sacrifice everything; you can hear it in my voice because I’m really triggered and frustrated. I think that’s the beauty of art, the catharsis of art, if you will.
(from left) Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans) and Cameron Cade (Tyriq Withers) in ‘HIM’, directed by Justin Tipping. Photo: Universal Pictures.
MF: Can you talk about Cam and Isaiah’s mentor/mentee relationship, and did you have a bit of that with Marlon Wayans off screen? Was he an actor that you admired growing up, and if so, what was it like working with him on this project?
TW: Yeah, Marlon is an actor who I have looked up to all my life and not only on screen, but him as a human being, and his comedy. So, there was a mentor/mentee relationship developed initially coming on the set. It didn’t get weird like Cameron and Isaiah. I think watching Cameron’s journey between the respect of his idol and pulling back the layers of who Isaiah White is, allowed him to really see Isaiah for who he truly was and really understand, your idol becomes your rival. You know, that’s the beauty and ugliness of sports, where people you look up to will become your rivals. Where Allen Iverson had to crossover Michael Jordan, and AI grew up loving Jordan, but we must do what we must do. So that was a fun thing to play with and Marlon took me under his wing as a younger brother, or an honorary Wayans, I always say. I’m grateful for that brotherhood.
MF: How did you physically prepare to play this role? Did you go to a quarterback bootcamp or have any type of football training before shooting?
TW: I just kind of went to set and showed up. No, I’m kidding. I went in the gym. I had to get physically in shape. So, I was working out six days a week, twice a day. eating 4,000 calories while going to a football camp with Jordan Palmer training with actual QBs prepping for the NFL draft. So, I got to see the training, but also the interview process, the playwriting process, the studying process, and we had Joe Milton there, who currently plays for the Cowboys. Then, Josh Allen popped through to give some words. So, it was a real authentic football experience to really bring to the character and I carried that on screen. Hopefully that resonates with everyone, because I took it serious coming from football. I played wide receiver, so it was a bit of a transition to learn the quarterback position.
(from left) Marlon Wayans, director Justin Tipping and Tyriq Withers on the set of ‘HIM’, directed by Justin Tipping. Photo: Universal Pictures.
MF: What was director Justin Tipping like to collaborate with on set?
TW: Justin was a beauty to have as a director where he allowed us the freedom to bring ourselves to the role, but also pushing us to places that we couldn’t even imagine. I think his vision, his eye for story, is immaculate and I think there’s certain themes and writing aspects of this film that he fought for that I’m grateful to have. He paid his respects to the sport of football, even though he came from soccer. I think that’s a testament to him as a director, where he’s able to find the common themes and create specific stories. I feel like the more specific a story is, the more universal and relatable it will become, and he created a piece that I think will be studied for generations. I think it will age like fine wine.
MF: Finally, how much interaction did you have with producer Jordan Peele on this project? Was he on set during production and what were some of his contributions while filming?
TW: Yeah, he was on my initial casting Zoom when they told me I got the part. They were like, “Jordan Peele is hopping on the call. Do you know who Jordan Peele is?” I’m like, “Do I know who Jordan Peele is?” He was there to share the news and we had a couple meetings and we got to hang. He came to set a few days, but wasn’t there every day because as a producer, you put the right people in the right positions to curate the art that you want to tell. I think that’s the genius of Jordan Peele, where he knows exactly who to put where. He gave me some words of affirmation and really gave me the extra added confidence to walk on set and really do my thing as Cameron Cade.
(L to R) Director Justin Tipping, Tyriq Withers (as Cam), Producer Jordan Peele, and Marlon Wayans (as Isaiah) on the set of ‘HIM’, from Universal Pictures.
What is the plot of ‘Him’?
When rising quarterback Cameron Cade (Tyriq Withers) is attacked by an unhinged fan and suffers a potentially career-ending brain trauma, legendary championship quarterback Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans) offers to train Cam at his isolated compound. But Cam’s training and Isaiah’s charisma soon begin to curdle into something darker, which may cost Cam more than he ever bargained for.
(Left) Director-Producer Joseph Kosinski attends a Press Conference in Mexico City on June 10th, 2025 for Warner Bros. Pictures / Apple Original Films ‘F1’. Photo Credit: Chino Lemus. Copyright: Chino Lemus 2022. (Right) Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas in the TV series ‘Miami Vice’. Photo: NBC/Universal.
Preview:
Universal has dated the new ‘Miami Vice’ for 2027.
Joseph Kosinski is directing.
No casting has been announced yet.
First there was ‘Miami Vice’, the iconic 1980s detective drama. In 2006, Michael Mann brought us Movie Vice (okay, it was still just called ‘Miami Vice’ on the big screen, but go with us here).
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And, back in April, word landed that ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and ‘F1’ director Joseph Kosinski was going to take his own crack at the concept for Universal.
It would appear that the success of ‘F1’ ($624 million worldwide so far on an admittedly hefty budget) has spurred the studio to truly commit to Kosinski’s version, with the company handing down a 2027 release slot.
(L to R) Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas in the TV series ‘Miami Vice’. Photo: NBC/Universal.
‘Miami Vice’ began life in the early 1980s as a TV show created by ‘Hill Street Blues’ writer Anthony Yerkovich, after NBC president Brandon Tartikoff requested a program that combined the style of MTV with a cop series. The result, produced by Michael Mann, starred Don Johnson as Sonny Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Rico Tubbs, two detectives working undercover in Miami. The show, which ran for five seasons from 1984 to 1990, became known for its groundbreaking visual style, its hip needle drops, and the fashions worn by its characters, arguably revolutionizing the look of TV crime drama for decades to come.
After Mann moved into directing feature films with ‘The Last of the Mohicans,’ ‘Heat,’ and others, he rebooted ‘Miami Vice’ as a 2006 movie starring Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx as Crockett and Tubbs. While not initially a hit with either critics or audiences, the film has since been reappraised and is now considered a cult classic.
Tyriq Withers as Cameron Cade in ‘HIM’, directed by Justin Tipping. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Producer Jordan Peele’s name is prominent in the marketing for ‘Him,’ a film that lands in a category that might be called ‘sports horror.’ But while the Peele brand is associated with socially conscious genre fare – particularly the films he’s directed, like ‘Get Out’ and ‘Nope’ – he turns the reins here over to Justin Tipping, who helmed the 2016 urban drama ‘Kicks.’
While Peele himself might have had a different outcome with ‘Him,’ Tipping does not seem on sure footing here. In fact, in an attempt to make ‘Him’ as dream-like and surreal as he can, Tipping turns the film into a progressively manic and borderline nonsensical string of sequences that are edited in such haphazard fashion as to almost induce withdrawal in the viewer. Though not without its merits, ‘Him’ turns out to be the cinematic equivalent of a game that got away.
Story and Direction
(from left) Marlon Wayans, director Justin Tipping and Tyriq Withers on the set of ‘HIM’, directed by Justin Tipping. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Cameron Cade (Tyriq Withers) is an up-and-coming college football star who many pundits see as the heir apparent to Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans), the rumored-to-be-retiring superstar quarterback of the fictional San Antonio Saviors. But when a senseless attack leaves Cam with a serious head injury and his career on the line, Isaiah invites him to come train at his secluded underground compound out in the desert, where Isaiah himself will personally determine whether Cam can still make the cut – and help him get there.
It sounds too good to be true, and right off the bat it is: Isaiah’s massive crib/training facility is one of those labyrinthine, vault-like places, full of weird art and winding corridors, that automatically screams ‘bad things happen here.’ Sure enough, Cam’s training becomes increasingly unorthodox and violent, while Isaiah begins to behave in ways that are erratic and even dangerous. As the crucial date for Cam’s meeting with the owners of the Saviors draws near, it becomes apparent that he may have to fight not just for his signing bonus, but for his life.
(L to R) Marlon Wayans (as Isaiah), director Justin Tipping, and Tyriq Withers (as Cam) on the set of ‘HIM’, from Universal Pictures.
‘Him’ lets us know early on that it’s using horror as a metaphor for the toxic masculinity and abusive culture that permeates professional sports. In an early flashback, Cam as a boy watches Isaiah get gravely injured on live television during a playoff game. ‘That’s what men do,’ intones his (soon-to-be-deceased) father. ‘They sacrifice. No guts, no glory.’ Later, at Isaiah’s compound, Isaiah repeatedly barks, ‘This isn’t a f**king game!’ His staff physician injects Cam daily with some unknown substance. Even the cult of personality around certain sports stars gets a sharp poke thanks to the menacing Isaiah fans that hang around outside the gates.
This could all be worthy material in the right hands, and indeed the script by Zack Akers and Skip Bronkie made the prestigious Black List of unproduced screenplays. But Tipping turns it all into a mashup of music video, montage compilation, and fever dream, with frenetic editing, battering-ram sound, and occult imagery that makes less and less sense as it goes on. Perhaps the idea is to make us feel like we’re inside Cam’s already damaged head, but instead of a rising tide of dread and tension we’re just subjected to a string of barely connected episodes that make us feel instead like the movie is falling apart. By the time we find out the answer to what’s behind it all, we no longer care nor are we even sure what the hell it is.
Cast and Performances
Marlon Wayans is Isaiah in ‘HIM’, directed by Justin Tipping. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Although his performance is big – and increasingly over the top and beyond — Marlon Wayans easily holds the screen here. His Isaiah White is charismatic and charming until he’s not – and then he sometimes is again, even after going off the rails one scene earlier. Wayans’ natural presence and abilities provide the most interest in ‘Him,’ especially in one quiet scene toward the end that allows some insight into the character of Isaiah for a moment (“Find your own way to greatness,” he tells Cam, “Don’t be me”) before the mayhem starts up again.
We can’t quite say the same for Tyriq Withers. The former college football star (for real) has the physical prowess and good looks to make for a credible rising phenom, but except for a flash of rage or sadness here and there Withers just doesn’t have the range or expressiveness to carry the film’s critical role. As for the rest of the cast, no one stands out much except Julia Fox as Isaiah’s social influencer (and sex toy peddler) wife, Elsie, with Fox giving her usual downtown girl schtick a witchy twist.
Final Thoughts
Marlon Wayans is Isaiah (back, pointing) and Tyriq Withers is Cam (foreground) in ‘HIM’, directed by Justin Tipping. Photo: Universal Pictures.
There are probably some fascinating horror stories that could come out of the world of sports – particularly when it comes to body horror and the way that athletic competition can crush both the flesh and spirit – but despite its ambitions, ‘Him’ is not one of those movies.
Whatever was in that original script by Akers and Bronkie just seems to get lost here in Tipping’s frenzied, headache-inducing style of direction. ‘Him’ just pummels you with nonstop, almost assaultive imagery that is both nightmarish and gratuitous. If it’s meant to make the viewer feel like he’s getting hammered on all sides by the other team’s defensive line – well, perhaps in that regard it succeeds, but as a movie, not so much.
‘Him’ receives a score of 45 out of 100.
‘HIM’, directed by Justin Tipping. Photo: Universal Pictures.
What is the plot of ‘Him’?
When rising quarterback Cameron Cade is attacked by an unhinged fan and suffers a potentially career-ending brain trauma, legendary championship quarterback Isaiah White offers to train Cam at his isolated compound. But Cam’s training and Isaiah’s charisma soon begin to curdle into something darker, which may cost Cam more than he ever bargained for.
Who is in the cast of ‘Him’?
Marlon Wayans as Isaiah White
Tyriq Withers as Cameron Cade
Julia Fox as Elsie White
Tim Heidecker as Tom
Jim Jefferies as Marco
Naomi Grossman as Marjorie
Maurice Greene as Malek
Akeem ‘Guapdad 4000’ Hayes as Murph
Tierra Whack as Adrienne
Don Benjamin as Cam Sr.
(L to R) Director Justin Tipping, Tyriq Withers (as Cam), Producer Jordan Peele, and Marlon Wayans (as Isaiah) on the set of ‘HIM’, from Universal Pictures.
List of Films Directed Or Produced By Jordan Peele:
Kristen Bell and Daniela Melchior are joining ‘Violent Night 2’.
David Harbour returns as a Santa.
Tommy Wirkola is directing once more.
You better watch out, you better not cry, better not pout… I’m telling you why: as we learned way back in January 2023, a sequel to 2022’s festive themed action comedy ‘Violent Night’ was reported as in development.
Harbour, of course, returns as the grumpy Santa Claus who has a propensity for dishing out a little of the ol’ ultraviolence to anyone who makes his naughty list.
Tommy Wirkola (‘Dead Snow’) is back calling the shots (and punches, and hits to the baubles), while the sequel’s script comes from the writers of the original, Pat Casey and Josh Miller.
‘Violent Night’ starred Harbour as a version of Santa who is feeling a little jaded about the whole Christmas thing after centuries of delivering presents to increasingly ungrateful kids.
A Norse warrior lord before he was tapped to don the red suit and bring joy to the world, he’s tired of lists asking for cash or video games, and of competing with Amazon. Plus, the genuine “thank yous” are few and far between.
So when he stumbles into a hostage situation at the Lightstone family compound, where the wealthy Gertrude (Beverly D’Angelo) and her grown kids, in-laws and grandchildren have gathered to celebrate a typically passive-aggressive Christmas, he’s initially more concerned with raiding the liquor cabinet than helping out, he’s moved by young Trudy Lightstone (Leah Brady) to take down the villain known as Scrooge (John Leguizamo) and his goons.
There are zero details on what the sequel will feature, besides presumably Harbour’s less-than-Jolly Old Saint Nick putting a beat down on some new threats.
Will Bell be a villain? Someone Santa has to save? And what of Melchior (who, after all, shares a name with a Biblical wise man associated with Christmas)? Looks like we’ll all have to act like kids on Christmas Eve and wait to see what this new cine-gift has to offer.
Where else can we see Kristen Bell and Daniela Melchior?
Kristen Bell in 2014’s ‘Veronica Mars’. Photo: Warner Bros.
Bell popped up in a cameo as herself in the most recent season of ‘Hacks’, but beyond that was the star of Netflix comedy drama series ‘Nobody Wants This’ in 2024. The show returns to the streaming service for Season 2 on October 23rd this year.
She’ll also reprise the key role of Anna in ‘Frozen III’, due in theaters on November 24th, 2027.
Universal has been developing a new movie take on the ‘Knight Rider’ concept for a while now, and The Hollywood Reporter has learned that the ‘Cobra Kai’ trio are in talks to write, produce and in terms of Hurwitz and Schlossberg, direct the eventual movie.
David Hasselhoff in ‘Knight Rider’. Photo: Universal Television/NBC.
Broadcast on NBC between 1982 to 1986 and created by prolific TV producer Glen A. Larson, ‘Knight Rider’ was a key series of the era, featuring a ridiculous high-concept, a hunky lead, and a memorable synth theme.
Hasselhoff starred as Michael Knight, a detective who becomes an agent for FLAG, the Foundation for Law and Government, and is partnered with KITT, a modified, artificially intelligent and indestructible Trans Am (whose computer system was voiced by William Daniels). Together, the two sped head-on to fight criminals who operate above the law.
The show became a cult favorite, and there have been attempts to re-imagine it in the past, including various TV movies and two short-lived TV series updates, ‘Team Knight Rider’ in 1997 and ‘Knight Rider’ in 2008.
A previous version of this new movie had a script by Kevin Burrows and Matt Mider, but the ‘Cobra Kai’ producers will no doubt bring their own spin to it. Chances of a Hoff cameo? Fair to good!
Also producing this one are filmmaker David Leitch and wife/producing partner Kelly McCormick via their 87North company.
What else are Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg and Josh Heald working on?
(L to R) Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, and Josh Heald attend Netflix’s ‘Cobra Kai’ Series Finale World Premiere at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood on February 12, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix.
With ‘Cobra Kai’ now wrapped after six successful seasons on Netflix, the trio have been exploring other projects.
They’re attached to a fourth ‘Harold & Kumar’ movie, looking to re-ignite the films that gave Hurwitz and Schlossberg their start in the business.
Plus, they’ve talked about potential ‘Cobra Kai’ spin-offs in development. With production company Counterbalance Entertainment, they have plenty of irons in the fire.
When will the ‘Knight Rider’ movie be on screens?
Since this is still in development, Universal has not yet opted to set a release date for the movie. But if the ‘Cobra Kai’ guys figure out a story that works, this one could turbo boost on to the fast track.
(L to R) David Hasselhoff, Patricia McPherson, Peter Parros and Edward Mulhare in ‘Knight Rider’. Photo: Universal Television/NBC.
Angelina Jolie is aboard to star in new spy thriller’ The Initiative’.
Doug Liman is directing the movie.
Universal has picked it up.
If it feels like 20 years since Angelina Jolie and director Doug Liman worked together, that’s because, er, it was! Yes, believe it or not, ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’, about married spies/assassins who discover each other’s jobs and are assigned to take each other out, was released in 2005.
While we’re busy pondering time’s endless march and chasing the darn kids off our darn lawn, Jolie and Liman are reuniting for a new espionage thriller, this one called ‘The Initiative’.
(L to R) Casey Affleck, director Doug Liman and Matt Damon on the set of ‘The Instigators’. Photo: Apple TV+.
Frazier’s new screenplay, according to the Reporter, is described as ‘Training Day’ set in the world of spycraft.
The story would see Jolie playing a rogue master spy named Bright who works outside the lines (not the newest concept in the world). When a new agent named Charlie joins Bright’s team, he soon finds himself in situations where he isn’t sure whether his new boss is trying to kill him or simply is willing to do whatever is necessary to protect the free world.
While both Jolie and Liman have busy schedules, the studio is hoping this one can hit the fast track, and film early next year.
What else is Angelina Jolie working on?
Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft in ‘Lara Croft: Tomb Raider’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
Jolie was most recently seen in award-nominated biopic ‘Maria’ about opera singer Maria Callas, and also wrote, directed and produced war parable ‘Without Blood’, which has so far only been released in Italy following a festival run.
Next up for her in terms of release is ‘Couture’, written and directed by Alice Winocour, which sees Jolie as American filmmaker Maxine, who arrives in Paris for Fashion Week on a life-and-death journey, facing challenges and self-discovery.
And, as per usual, that’s just a sampling of what she’s either worked on or attached to. The busy filmmaker will also pop up being interviewed in documentaries including ‘World Food Programme’ and a variety of movies including ‘Anxious People’ and another action pic, ‘Maude v. Maude’.
When will ‘The Initiative’ be in theaters?
Universal, which is still putting the finishing touches to the deals for this one, has yet to specify a release date.
But if it does shoot next year, we’d guess a 2027 release isn’t out of the question.
Angelina Jolie as Fox in director Timur Bekmambetov’s ‘Wanted.’ Photo: Universal Pictures.
Bob Odenkirk as Hutch Mansell in ‘Nobody 2’, directed by Timo Tjahjanto. Photo: Universal Pictures.
With the original ‘Nobody’ in 2021, writer Derek Kolstad, director Ilya Naishuller, and star Bob Odenkirk found a way to freshen up the action subgenre in which a seemingly ordinary guy turns out to be a deadly assassin who only reluctantly deploys his brutal skills. The key was Odenkirk, who managed to make Hutch Mansell’s transformation from dyspeptic husband and dad into lethal killer funny, believable, and even a little sad.
A mild hit, ‘Nobody’ didn’t seem like it would be instant sequel fodder, but here we are. Except that four years later, with increasingly tired retreads of the same tropes like ‘Love Hurts,’‘A Working Man,’ and ‘Novocaine’ coming out in the last year alone, ‘Nobody 2’ simply offers up more of the same. Only it doesn’t even have the rudimentary character development of the first film; this one, directed by Indonesian action filmmaker Timo Tjahjanto, can’t find the same relatively successful blend of comedy and action and quickly turns silly, with the thin plot used mainly to stretch the film from one numbing action sequence to another. Odenkirk is watchable as always, but ‘Nobody 2’ is a sequel that fails to justify its existence.
Story and Direction
(L to R) Bob Odenkirk and director Timo Tjahjanto on the set of ‘Nobody 2’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
The movie begins the same way as the first one: with an injured Hutch in an interrogation room, facing two FBI agents who want to know who he is (only this time he’s not alone). Cue the title card and a rewind to a few days earlier. Hutch is back to full-time assassination work to pay off the $30 million debt he owes the government for covering the Russian mob money he torched in the first movie. His nonstop schedule has distanced him from his kids and his wife Becca (Connie Nielsen, with a bit more to do this time), who is also feeling them drift apart.
Hutch decides he needs a break and rounds up the family for a vacation to Plummerville, home of Wild Bill’s Majestic Midway and Waterpark, an amusement park which Hutch’s dad David (Christopher Lloyd) took him and his brother Harry (RZA) when they were kids. “Making memories” is the goal, and Hutch even brings his dad along to relive what he considered one of the happiest times of his life. But as his handler (Colin Salmon) warns: “The job is in your nature, and nature always wins.”
Sure enough, they’re barely at the park for a day when Hutch’s son runs afoul of some bullies at the arcade, leading to a violent altercation between Hutch and some security guards. That puts him on the radar of the park’s owner, Wyatt Martin (John Ortiz) and the corrupt Sheriff Abel (Colin Hanks), both of whom work for the psychopathic crime queen Lendina (Sharon Stone). Plummerville has become a front for Lendina’s nefarious drug and gun-running operation, and Hutch is not welcome.
Bob Odenkirk as Hutch Mansell in ‘Nobody 2’, directed by Timo Tjahjanto. Photo: Universal Pictures.
That’s about as far as the plot gets before it turns, as mentioned earlier, into just an excuse for escalating mayhem. Despite Odenkirk’s normal guy façade, Hutch is all but a superhero; he gets out of every scrape with a few dings (okay, and a missing fingertip) while leaving everyone else bashed to a pulp on the floor. No one in his family or his eventual team (which includes his dad, of course, as well as Harry – RZA showing up for a day’s work – and an ally one can see coming from a mile away) ever seems like they’re truly in danger, which makes the stakes for the characters almost non-existent.
And that’s what ultimately lets the air out of this largely joyless affair. Tjahjanto, making his Hollywood debut here after films like ‘May the Devil Take You,’ can speed up or slow down the action all he wants, but he doesn’t really do anything creative or exciting with it. It’s just Odenkirk (or his fight double) pummeling generic bad guys over and over again in increasingly silly and frenetic ways. The characterizations are skin-deep, and even the big bad, Sharon Stone’s Lendina, feels like she’s barely in the movie (which runs about 82 minutes before credits).
The film also utilizes the now customary gag of playing some upbeat pop standard underneath each scene of bone-crunching violence or destruction — as ironic counterpoint, we suppose — but it’s been done to death and isn’t amusing anymore. Then of course, there’s the montage where Hutch and friends prepare death traps in the amusement park in what seems like a full afternoon’s work, while Lendina and her army drive there at approximately two miles an hour. Meanwhile, the seeds of interesting ideas – mainly centering around Hutch’s influence on his kids and his relationship with Becca – are given lip service and then tossed aside without even bothering at a resolution.
Cast and Performances
Sharon Stone as Lendina in ‘Nobody 2’, directed by Timo Tjahjanto. Photo: Universal Pictures.
We’ll give credit where credit is due: Bob Odenkirk works hard to bring Hutch and the picture to life, and he commits to both the bit and the action in a way that at least seems honest. He’s the main reason one sticks with ‘Nobody 2,’ even if it sometimes feels like he’s alternating between two expressions – downtrodden and mad – the whole movie. As noted earlier, Connie Nielsen is kept a little busier this time around, but the simmering tension between Becca and Hutch never pays off.
As for the rest of the cast, the work is mostly phoned in. Ortiz and Hanks handle their paper-thin bad guys as best they can, while Christopher Lloyd and RZA look happy to be getting paid just to show up and stand around (the latter especially is barely in the film). As for Sharon Stone, she vamps and screeches and gyrates and generally chews up all the scenery she can find, but the character is so underwritten than even Stone going full psycho can’t make her particularly interesting.
If Timo Tjahjanto set out to bring any of the flavor of his work in Indonesia to a Hollywood action/comedy film, it doesn’t make an impression here. Aside from Odenkirk and Nielsen and a few sparsely funny moments sprinkled throughout, ‘Nobody 2’ is the definition of a sequel that no one in particular asked for.
It doesn’t advance the character of Hutch the way that the first film did, and it doesn’t fully embrace either its campiness or the potential grittiness of the action. It feels as insubstantial as a cartoon or video game, is as unrealistic as either of those, and doesn’t have anything that’s particularly interesting to say. Like its rudimentary story, the joke in ‘Nobody 2’ wears out fast.
What is the plot of ‘Nobody 2’?
Four years after he took on the Russian mob, husband, father and workaholic assassin Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk) is working off his debt to them with an unending string of hits on international thugs. But when Hutch and his wife Becca (Connie Nielsen) decide to take their kids on a short vacation, a minor encounter with town bullies yanks the family into the crosshairs of an unhinged, blood-thirsty crime boss (Sharon Stone).
Available on digital beginning August 5th, before arriving on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD on September 9th is the box office hit ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, which is the seventh movie in the series and begins a whole new chapter for the beloved franchise.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director Gareth Edwards from Thailand about the ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’s digital and home entertainment release. Edwards discussed his love for the original movie, taking the franchise in a new direction, the alternate opening, the deleted scenes and why they were cut, and designing the look of the dinosaurs and other creatures for the film.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Edwards, and actors Luna Blaise, David Iacono and Audrina Miranda.
Director Gareth Edwards on the set of ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Moviefone: To begin with, were you a fan of the ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘Jurassic World’ movies before making this film, and what does it mean to you personally to be leading this new chapter of the franchise?
Gareth Edwards: I think on the fan front, so basically New Year’s Eve 2024, which is when I was offered the gig, my girlfriend was like, “What do you want to do?” I said, “I don’t really want to go out. Let’s just go down the road. We live near Universal Studios.” I was like, “Let’s just go on the ‘Jurassic World’ ride, and that’s how we’ll celebrate New Year’s Eve.” So, I took a picture of myself and I’m friends with Colin Trevorrow who did the ‘Jurassic World’ movies, and I sent it to them as sort of an embarrassing, like this is how rock and roll I am, that we’re going on a ‘Jurassic World’ theme park ride for our New Year’s Eve. But I didn’t expect in my wildest dreams that two months later, I was going to be in a room with Steven Spielberg pitching him my take on that screenplay. So, it’s been a surreal, crazy journey, to be honest with you.
Director Gareth Edwards on the set of ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
MF: I understand there will be an alternate opening as well as deleted scenes available with the digital release. Can you talk about what the alternate opening is, as well as the deleted scenes and why they didn’t make the final theatrical cut?
GE: So, there’s an alternative opening. ‘Jurassic Park’ basically has a lot of strong themes within it, and one of them is man versus nature, obviously. So, I started the movie with basically the rainforest getting destroyed a little bit, by these giant machines were building this lab where the movie opens. It just took a little too long visually to get there in time. So, as we were just trying to tighten the movie, it was just one of the things that came out. But I always missed it not being in the film. So, it doesn’t have all finished VFX, but you really see all the temporary previs of that. Then there’s two deleted scenes, one that people might recognize who saw the trailer, which is a velociraptor scene that got removed. The reason for that was because if you imagined it in the actual film, it was like a double beat moment where you have this reveal of raptors in the beginning of the third act in the film at night, and then suddenly the Mutadons appear, and it just felt like a hat on a hat a little bit. So, we’re going to be putting that on the digital extras. Then also my favorite scene that got cut out that I was just sad about and wanted it to be in the movie, but it basically just stopped the momentum at one point. But it’s a scene, without getting into too much information, it’s basically when Scarlett sees a payphone and tries to make a call and it all goes a bit wrong from there.
(L to R) Luna Blaise and the T-Rex in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
MF: Finally, can you talk about designing the look of the dinosaurs and the new mutated creatures?
GE: Well, when I started the film, I walked into this empty office and they go, “Okay, your first meeting is in a few days with Mattel, the toy company.” I was like, “Okay, why?” They said, “Well, they want to see all the designs for the dinosaurs. They need a year to build the factories to make the toys.” I’m like, “We don’t have any designs.” So basically, I put out this bat signal to all my favorite concept artists that I’d worked with that could do creature designs. We did this massive Zoom session where I just said everything I could possibly think of. Dozens and dozens of the top people in the world just went away that night and within about two or three days we had about 300 designs and it was fast to nail the look of the dinosaurs. The only problem ones were the mutant dinosaurs because obviously the canvas is so large. There was one called the D-Rex, which was really, I felt like I could see it in my peripheral vision if there was a crime and you were trying to explain it to the police. I felt like I got a good look at that one. The one I didn’t quite see was the Mutadon, which is the smaller, more raptor-like mutant dinosaur. There are no toys of those for a reason because we took nine months to figure that one out. So sorry, kids, maybe at Christmas, if you pester your mom and Mattel, you might get one.
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What’s the story of ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’?
Five years after the events of ‘Jurassic World Dominion’, the planet’s ecology has proven largely inhospitable to dinosaurs. Those remaining exist in isolated equatorial environments with climates resembling the one in which they once thrived. The three most colossal creatures across land, sea and air within that tropical biosphere hold, in their DNA, the key to a drug that will bring miraculous life-saving benefits to humankind.
Scarlett Johansson plays skilled covert operations expert Zora Bennett, contracted to lead a skilled team on a top-secret mission to secure the genetic material. When Zora’s operation intersects with a civilian family whose boating expedition was capsized by marauding aquatic dinos, they all find themselves stranded on a forbidden island that had once housed an undisclosed research facility for Jurassic Park. There, in a terrain populated by dinosaurs of vastly different species, they come face-to-face with a sinister, shocking discovery that has been hidden from the world for decades.
‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ will be available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray™ and DVD September 9, 2025.
EXCLUSIVE BONUS FEATURES AVAILABLE WHEN YOU BUY AT PARTICIPATING DIGITAL RETAILERS:
ALTERNATE OPENING
DELETED SCENES:
MUTADON ATTACK – Featuring Scarlett Johansson, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, David Iacono, Rupert Friend, Luna Blaise and Audrina Miranda.
RAPTORS – Featuring Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, David Iacono, Luna Blaise and Audrina Miranda.
JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH: HATCHING A NEW ERA DOCUMENTARY
THE WORLD EVOLVES – Journey into a reimagined Jurassic World with
Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, Mahershala Ali and the rest of the cast
and filmmakers.
OFF THE DEEP END – Dive into the thrilling ocean sequence and learn about the challenges of shooting on open water, the one-of-a-kind gimbal used to toss around the Essex and Mariposa, and the VFX wizardry that brought the Mosasaurus and Spinosaurs to life.
TREKKING THROUGH THAILAND – Follow the cast and crewʼs footsteps as they navigate the challenges of shooting in exotic jungles, beaches, and tall grass fields that become home to the Titanosaurs.
REX IN THE RAPIDS – Brace for a TRex encounter thatʼs different than anything experienced before with a nail-biting river chase recreated from Michael Crichtonʼs original Jurassic Park novel.
DONʼT LOOK DOWN – Soar into the Quetzalcoatlus sequence with Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, and Bechir Sylvain as they train for and shoot their cliff rappelling scenes.
MINI-MART MAYHEM – Go inside the heart-stopping third act of Jurassic World Rebirth and witness the process of crafting sets that allow the movieʼs mutant dinosaurs to step out of nightmare-inspired designs and stop on an exhilarating rampage. Featuring Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, Audrina Miranda, David Iacono, Luna Blaise, Rupert Friend and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo.
GAG REEL
MEET DOLORES – Meet the animatronic Aquilops with an extraordinarily lifelike personality.
MUNCHED: BECOMING DINO FOOD – Get a victim’s firsthand view inside the frightening jaws of deadly dinosaurs that munch, chomp, and chew their way into creating unforgettable death sequences.
A DAY AT SKYWALKER SOUND – Actress Audrina Miranda guides a personal tour of Skywalker Sound in California to meet the audio editors, foley artists, and mixers who design the movie’s wide array of sounds.
HUNTING FOR EASTER EGGS – Find out where to look for cleverly hidden Easter eggs that pay homage to everything from the first Jurassic Park film to other Steven Spielberg classics.
FEATURE COMMENTARY with Director Gareth Edwards, Production Designer James Clyne, and First Assistant Director Jack Ravenscroft.
FEATURE COMMENTARY with Director Gareth Edwards, Editor Jabez Olssen, and Visual Effects Supervisior David Vickery.
‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ will be available exclusively on digital platforms to own or rent starting August 5th.
Charlize Theron and Channing Tatum are starring in ‘Dance Parents’.
Jonathan Levine will direct the movie.
Universal won a bidding war for the rights.
Is comedy ready to make a big comeback to theaters? With ‘The Naked Gun’ doing decent business and Disney bringing legacy sequel ‘Freakier Friday’ this weekend, it would seem other studios are dipping their toes in too.
Universal, which has seen success with comedies in the past, nabbed the project after winning a bidding battle with several other companies for the rights.
With the project still in early development –– besides Levine and the stars, the only other person attached right now is writer Meghan Malloy (‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’) –– the exact plot details are being kept quiet for now.
But we can at least speculate from that title the idea that it’ll be set in the heady world of competitive kids dancing, and the obsessive parents who manage their every step.
Tatum, of course, has extensive dance experience, not least in the ‘Step Up’ franchise. And he and Theron shared a number on stage at the 2013 Oscars.
What else are Charlize Theron and Channing Tatum working on?
Channing Tatum as Gambit in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’. Photo: Marvel Studios.
Theron will next be seen amongst the packed cast of Christopher Nolan’s latest, ‘The Odyssey’, which will be in theaters on July 17th next year. She’s also the lead in new wilderness thriller ‘Apex’.
On top of those, she has a raft of other projects on her list, much of which she is producing, including a limited series adaptation of horror novel ‘The Quiet Tenant’ with Blumhouse, ‘Jane’, a psychological thriller feature loosely based on the life of prolific science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, and ‘Two for the Money’, a love letter to the heist genre directed by Justin Lin.
Tatum’s next movie to see theaters will be true crime comedy drama ‘Roofman’, due on October 10th.
He’s recently worked on a new thriller called ‘Josephine’ and is filming ‘Alpha Gang’, a sci-fi comedy about aliens who arrive on Earth plotting invasion but succumb to human emotions when they disguise themselves as a biker gang.
Oh, and there is also the small matter of his reprising the role of Gambit for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, which is also in production now for a December 18th, 2026 release.
When will ‘Dance Parents’ waltz into theaters?
With everything still coming together on the comedy, Universal has yet to specify a release date for it.
