Just days after the news came out that Jason Statham made an abrupt departure from The Man From Toronto, Kevin Hart's action comedy cast its replacement. Not that you can really replace Jason Statham ... but Woody Harrelson will try.
I mean, I guess both Jason Statham and Woody Harrelson have action comedies to their names, but I'm surprised at this choice. Love me some Woody, though, so we'll just have to see how this plays out in terms of chemistry between Hart and Harrelson.
Jason Statham's exit came as quite a shock, and was paired with his exit from his own agency. Meanwhile, Kevin Hart's The Man From Toronto was gearing up to start filming in just weeks, with a scheduled opening of November 20.
Woody Harrelson should have a big Fall 2020, from playing Cletus Kasady/Carnage in Venom 2 in October to this role for November. It's not exactly a supporting role, either, since Jason Statham was playing The Man From Toronto himself. That's the role Harrelson will now play, per Deadline. He's the world's deadliest assassin, who teams up with a guy named Teddy (Kevin Hart), aka New York's biggest screw-up, when they are mistaken for each other in a rented Airbnb. They are forced to team up to save the day and try to survive each other.
We already know Kevin Hart and Jason Statham work well together -- and share Dwayne Johnson on the action-comedy chemistry front -- from Hart's small role in Hobbs & Shaw. It remains to be seen how Woody Harrelson will fit into the role opposite Kevin Hart.
Honestly, though, I think this is a movie that should press pause, or at least delay its release beyond November 20. That's when Godzilla vs. Kong is coming out (for now) with No Time to Die newly rescheduled for November 25. But maybe The Man From Toronto can be comedy counter-programming. Jason Statham reportedly had creative differences with Sony over The Man From Toronto being PG-13 -- timed for a holiday release -- and that's supposedly tied to his departure. (Update: Shortly after this posting, Sony revealed it is pressing pause on filming for The Man From Toronto. Still has the same release date, though.)
Things have been changing fast on the movie front, beyond Jason Statham social distancing himself from Kevin Hart's movie. The 2020 movie release calendar is getting a makeover due to coronavirus fears and this year may look very different than we expected on multiple fronts.
Kevin Hart has been keeping busy since his major car accident last year, and his fans may be happy to hear this action comedy is still moving forward with another likable A-list star like Woody Harrelson. How do you feel about The Man from Toronto, based on the cast and description?
