Jennifer Lopez clearly has weddings on the mind, because along with appearing later this year alongside Owen Wilson and Sarah Silverman in Marry Me, she’s also set to star in the upcoming romantic action comedy title Shotgun Wedding. Originally Lopez was going to perform opposite Death on the Nile star Armie Hammer, but he exited the project last week after sexually graphic direct messages allegedly from him were leaked, with one message saying he was “100% a cannibal.” Well, it didn’t take long for Hammer’s replacement to be found, with Transformers actor Josh Duhamel reportedly being eyed.
According to THR, Josh Duhamel is currently in talks to take over Armie Hammer’s role in Shotgun Wedding. The article noted that the search for Hammer’s replacement began immediately after his exit, with Jennifer Lopez having a say in the casting process and Duhamel’s name coming up early on. With the project set to begin filming in February, it makes sense that the filmmakers would line up a new co-lead quickly.
Among Josh Duhamel’s notable credits include playing William Lennox in four Transformers movies, Leo du Pres in All my Children and Danny McCoy in Las Vegas, while his more recent appearances include Love, Simon, The Buddy Games, The Lost Husband and the Veronica Mars revival. Along with Shotgun Wedding looking like a bright prospect for him, Duhamel is also starring in the upcoming Netflix series Jupiter’s Legacy as Sheldon Sampson.
In the aftermath of these direct messages attributed to Armie Hammer making their way online, Hammer decided to depart from Shotgun Wedding. Lionsgate, the studio behind the movie, initially announced that Hammer requested that he be able to step away from the project, and the studio obliged. Hammer later said in his own statement that he would not address these “bullshit claims,” but felt that in light of the “vicious and spurious online attacks” against him, he couldn’t go to the Dominican Republic to shoot a movie for four months.
As for what Shotgun Wedding holds in store, the movie will follow Jennifer Lopez’s Darcy and Tom, the character Josh Duhamel would play. The couple is holding a destination wedding, but having to contend with their opinionated families, which in turn leads to Darcy and Tom getting cold feet. As if that wasn’t enough, uninvited and armed guests also make their way to the wedding and start making demands, leading to the couple working together to save their family and friends.
Behind the cameras, Pitch Perfect’s Jason Moore is directing 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, though it’s unclear if he’ll also have an on-screen presence. There’s no word yet on when Shotgun Wedding will premiere in theaters, although with filming beginning soon, that would put it on track for dropping sometime in 2022.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates on Shotgun Wedding’s progress. For now, keep track of the movies that are on this year’s calendar with our 2021 release schedule.
