Armie Hammer stepped away from two high-profile projects he was signed on to star in last month after private social media messages allegedly written by the Call Me By Your Name actor leaked online. He requested to depart from his role as The Godfather producer Al Ruddy in the Paramount+ series The Offer as well as stepped away from appearing alongside Jennifer Lopez in the action-comedy Shotgun Wedding. However, his replacement has just been officially cast for the latter project, and it’s a great pick.
Jennifer Lopez will now play the bride to Josh Duhamel instead of Armie Hammer in Shotgun Wedding. Lionsgate President of Production Erin Westerman made the announcement via a PR release, saying the studio “couldn’t be happier” with the movie’s new star. The executive also said this:
We know Josh and Jennifer will make a compelling and sexy on-screen couple and they will be fun sparring partners as their dream destination wedding erupts into a memorable nightmare.
Shotgun Wedding will revolve around Darcy and Tom, an engaged couple who whisks away their families on a destination wedding just as the couple begins to grapple with potentially breaking things off. Things really heat up when their wedding party is taken hostage, and J-Lo and Josh Duhamel’s characters must go on some sort of adventure in order to save their loved ones, all while being at odds with one another.
It looks to be one of those rom-coms where chemistry is an absolute must, and Josh Duhamel has definitely been involved in enough movies of the genre to take on a role like this. Aside from his time in the Transformers movies, the 48-year-old actor has been the leading man in quite a few romance movies, including comedies like When In Rome, Life As We Know It and New Year’s Eve. And, of course, Jennifer Lopez is something of a rom-com queen herself.
Additionally, it was announced that Sonia Braga will be playing J-Lo’s mother in the film, and Legally Blonde’s Jennifer Coolidge will play the role of Josh Duhamel’s mom. Shotgun Wedding will be directed by Pitch Perfect’s Jason Moore from a script written by Mark Hammer and New Girl creator Elizabeth Meriwether.
Armie Hammer requested to exit Shotgun Wedding after DMs were released of the actor laying out graphic sexual acts and telling a woman he is “100% a cannibal” and wanted to drink her blood. The actor has denied these claims, calling them “vicious and spurious online attacks” against him, but more women have come out to discuss the claims, including two of his alleged exes, writer Jessica Ciencin Henriquez and model Paige Lorenze.
Paige Lorenze claimed that the actor would use a knife on her body, and even cut the letter “A” above her pubic bones. She also alleged that the actor wanted to remove a rib so he could consume it. Armie Hammer’s ex-wife and mother of his two children, Elizabeth Chambers, has responded to the allegations, stating that she is “shocked, heartbroken, and devastated” by what she has heard about him.
Shotgun Wedding is set to start filming in the Dominican Republic next month ahead of an undisclosed release date for the action comedy.
