Chris Evans and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson are teaming up for an action-packed holiday film franchise with Amazon. The news that Evans is joining the project broke on Monday, with Johnson already signed on as a star and producer.
The film, titled Red One, is described in a press release as “a globe-trotting, four-quadrant action-adventure comedy, imagining a whole new universe to explore within the holiday genre.” Plot details beyond that curiosity-piquing, slightly abstract summary have yet to be revealed.
The idea behind Red One came from Hiram Garcia, president of production at Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions. The script will be written by Chris Morgan, who has previously collaborated with Johnson and Seven Bucks Productions on the Fast and Furious films. Jake Kasdan, who worked with Johnson on Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, has been tapped to direct.
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Johnson first announced Red One with a statement back in June. “Hold my Mana, because this is exciting,” he told Variety at the time. “Our Seven Bucks is very bullish in our partnership with Amazon Studios; underpinned with some innovation, some pioneering and a lot of positive energy and passion. I’ve been very impressed with [Amazon Studios head] Jen Salke and her team’s vision and ambition to create an enormous, fun, and unique ‘Red One’ holiday universe for families around the world to enjoy.”
The phrase “holiday universe” suggests plans for an expansive franchise, something both Johnson and “Avengers” alum Evans know a little something about. Red One is set to film this year and premiere in time for the holiday season in 2023.
In the meantime, Evans can next be seen in the Russo Brothers’ upcoming Netflix film The Gray Man, and as the voice of Buzz Lightyear in Pixar’s highly anticipated Toy Story prequel, Lightyear. He also had a small role in Adam McKay’s apocalyptic climate change satire Don’t Look Up, which debuted on Netflix last month to lukewarm reviews.
