In October 2020, it was announced that Jennifer Lopez, who we last saw on the big screen in the critically acclaimed Hustlers, signed onto an action comedy involving all sorts of things going wrong on their wedding day, aptly titled Shotgun Wedding. Had things gone according to the original plan, Shotgun Wedding would have seen Lopez acting opposite Death on the Nile actor Armie Hammer. That is no longer the case, as Hammer has dropped off the project.
Shotgun Wedding is set to begin filming soon, and Lionsgate revealed that Armie Hammer requested that he be able to step away the movie, to which the studio obliged. Hammer’s exit comes after private social media messages purportedly written by him were leaked online. It hasn’t been confirmed if these messages did indeed originate from Hammer, but they discussed graphic sexual fantasies, including the writer saying they were “100% a cannibal” and telling a woman they wanted to drink her blood.
However this unusual Armie Hammer situation unfolds from here, Lionsgate now needs to recast his role in Shotgun Wedding rather quickly if the movie intends to keep its principal photography start date. Hammer most recently appeared in the 2020 Netflix movie Rebecca alongside Lily James. Later this year, Hammer can be seen in Death on the Nile (the second of Kenneth Branagh’s Agatha Christie adaptations) and Crisis, and his other upcoming projects include appearing in the Taika Waititi movie Next Goal Wins, reprising the role of Oliver in the Call Me By Your Name sequel, and starring as The Godfather producer Al Ruddy in the Paramount+ limited series The Offer.
For those who haven’t heard about Shotgun Wedding until today, the movie will follow Darcy and Tom, who are having trouble getting their “very opinionated families” on board for their big destination wedding, which leads to the couple getting cold feet. The day only gets worse when uninvited and armed guests show up to make demands, leading to Darcy and Tom needing to work together to save their family and friends. Naturally Jennifer Lopez will be playing Darcy, and we’ll have to wait and see who replaces Armie Hammer as Tom.
Pitch Perfect’s Jason Moore will direct Shotgun Wedding off a script written by Mark Hammer and Elizabeth Meriwether, the latter of whom created the series New Girl. Ryan Reynolds is also attached as a producer. This is the second wedding-related movie that Jennifer Lopez coming up, as she’s also appearing later this year alongside Owen Wilson and Sarah Silverman in the romantic comedy Marry Me.
Shotgun Wedding doesn’t have a release date yet, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for that information and more updates on its development. Keep track of movies set to arrive this year with our 2021 release schedule.
