Hey, kid, ya like franchises? Sequels? Big-budget movies for the whole family? Well does Amazon have the project for you. Dwayne “the Rock†Johnson and Chris Evans have begun production on their next filmic enterprise, Red One, which is going to be directed by Jake Kasdan — a man who, the Rock notes in a tweet, is best known for “JUMANJI franchise.†The film also features J.K. Simmons and Bonnie Hunt as Santa and Mrs. Claus, per Deadline, and we hope Simmons plays Santa similarly to his Oscar-winning role in Whiplash because the Christmas season needs some excitement, goddamm it. Who doesn’t want to see a toy thrown at an underperforming elf’s head? Also in the cast: Lucy Liu, Kiernan Shipka, Kristofer Hivju, Nick Kroll, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, and Wesley Kimmel. And look, the Rock and Evans are nice enough, but what we really want is to see Liu and Shipka save Christmas (perhaps through the power of erotic lesbian paintings? Just throwing ideas out there).
Red One is being produced for Prime Video and is intended to “be an extensive franchise film with merchandising throughout the Amazon universe,†according to Deadline. That statement is giving “world domination†in a slightly creepy way, but it is Amazon. With a screenplay by Chris Morgan — whom the Rock may note is from “FAST & FURIOUS franchise†— sleigh-chase scene, anyone?