Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans are starring in their own spin on “Guardians of the Galaxy”….meets the North Pole.
Johnson plays the North Pole’s Head of Security who, aside from coaching Santa (J.K. Simmons) to get shredded, enlists the world’s most infamous bounty hunter (Chris Evans) to help save Christmas. The highly-anticipated holiday heist film “Red One” is directed by Jake Kasdan and is written by Chris Morgan, with the script based on a story by Hiram Garcia.
The official synopsis reads: After Santa Claus – Code Name: RED ONE – is kidnapped, the North Pole’s Head of Security (Johnson) must team up with the world’s most infamous bounty hunter (Evans) in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas.
Lucy Liu, Kiernan Shipka, Bonnie Hunt, Kristofer Hivju, Nick Kroll, and Wesley Kimmel also star.
Johnson, Kasdan, Garcia, Morgan, Dany Garcia, and Melvin Mar produce the Amazon MGM Studios feature. Johnson previously teased the film on social media, writing, “Ladies, gentlemen & children of all ages…the coolest, strongest, kindest, most bad ass, most loving & most OG Santa Claus of all time. Brought to life by Academy Award winner, J.K. Simmons who worked his ass off for months to step into this iconic role in AMAZING SHAPE for our Christmas franchise film, RED ONE. We’re having a BLAST and so will you and your families when you see our movie!!”
Co-star Evans captioned, “We’re already having WAY too much fun on this one. I can’t believe I’m finally doing a Christmas movie!”
Both Evans and Johnson are opting for the indie route for their respective next features. While Johnson just inked a deal with Disney, the actor/producer is starring in Benny Safdie’s first solo feature directing film, “The Smashing Machine.” Johnson is tapping into his original “The Rock” roots to portray MMA legend Mark Kerr. Safdie penned the script based on Kerr’s real-life story and rise in the UFC. Per the initial A24 announcement, Johnson’s most dramatic project yet follows MMA fighter Kerr’s career peak during the “no-holds-barred era of the UFC” in 2000. Johnson and Garcia’s Seven Bucks Productions will produce alongside Safdie’s Out for the Count banner, Eli Bush, and David Koplan.
Meanwhile, Evans joined Ethan Coen’s cult dramedy “Honey, Don’t!” alongside Margaret Qualley and Aubrey Plaza. Evans is set to play a cult leader.
“Red One” premieres November 15 in theaters. Check out the trailer below.
