Karen Gillan and Awkwafina together again? Sign us up! Word is that the Jumanji actresses have just signed on to star in an action-packed comedy together that’s being described as a cross between HBO’s Barry and Mean Girls. The two talented stars will be the leads in Jude Weng’s Shelly.
In the comedy, Awkwafina will be playing a stone-cold hitwoman named Shelly who was burned by Karen Gillan’s Dianna Park back in high school, with Dianne pulling a traumatizing high school prank on Shelly during prom night. Ten years later, Shelly is hired to kill off her former high school classmate, and she thinks it's an easy job until they form an unexpected friendship with one another. Shelly then finds herself taking on the role of Dianna’s protector against a crew of hitmen now after the both of them.
Shelly is a fun premise that can allow Awkwafina and Karen Gillan to show off their tried-and-true comedic chops and maybe even some hand-to-hand combat. Karen Gillan’s practically an action star after training with nunchucks for Jumanji: The Next Level and kicking butt in four Marvel films so far. Awkwafina is gearing up to enter the MCU too in Phase Four’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings with Simu Liu. Yeah, this is going to be awesome.
The upcoming movie was penned by The Escort writer Michael Doneger and newcomer Liz Storm, and will be helmed by Jude Weng, who recently wrapped her first feature-length film Finding Ohana and has directed episodes of the hit comedies The Good Place, Young Sheldon, Fresh off the Boat and Black-ish. Shelly will be produced by 6 Underground’s Ian Bryce and Kate Malott, per Deadline.
For the kind of buddy comedy Shelly looks to be, it helps that Karen Gillan and Awkwafina already bonded on the set of Jumanji: The Next Level last year. Take a look at the pair, already supporting one another in the air during Awkwafina’s first day on set as Ming:
We might not have easily imagined placing these two together, but now that Hollywood has, I cannot wait to see what they do with a comedy movie of their own. The actresses are coming off the massive success Jumanji: The Next Level became at the end of 2019. The holiday release made $796 million at the worldwide box office and impressed critics. Jumanji 4 is in early development at Sony.
Shelly sounds like a blast for the actresses in between their big-budget tentpole films. Karen Gillan is also signed on for James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and a sci-fi thriller called Dual. Awkwafina also has a role in Disney’s animated film Raya and the Last Dragon and the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more updates on upcoming movies.
