Ryan Reynolds is having a massive summer between the release of The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (in which he stars alongside Salma Hayek and Samuel L. Jackson) and the upcoming release of Free Guy. In the time between those two releases, the actor has just started working with Will Ferrell and it looks like they’ve already broken the ice during their first day on set together.
The Deadpool actor shared an image in front of the camera with Will Ferrell to commemorate his first day of filming the upcoming movie Spirited. As you can see, these two funny guys are already getting close on set:
Ryan Reynolds shared the photo on Twitter Tuesday to announce Spirited is officially in production and coming to AppleTV+. Perfectly on brand for Reynolds, he poked a little fun at the studio he is working with by saying that “iOS 14.6 will begin installing in 7 seconds” as a jab at the company behind the streaming service the movie is being produced by.
The Apple Original will be a modern retelling of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and a musical. Ryan Reynolds will apparently be taking on the Ebenezer Scrooge-type character and Will Ferrell will be playing the ghost of the present who he meets during the Christmas season. Octavia Spencer is also in the film, and is playing a sidekick to Ferrell’s character.
Spirited has begun filming in the town of Braintree, Massachusetts, which is located in the Boston area. The movie started rolling its cameras in the South Shore Plaza, which has been unseasonably decorated for Christmas as part of the production It’s exciting to see Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell together in the same shot – their respective styles are sure to mix well together for the upcoming movie.
The Apple film is being directed by Sean Anders, and is based on a script that Anders co-wrote with John Morris – the two filmmakers having previously worked together on the Daddy’s Home movies, Instant Family, and Horrible Bosses 2. Spirited was announced back in 2019 but may have been delayed due to COVID-19. If we’re lucky, it could be ready just in time for the 2021 holiday season, but that would be a very quick turnaround for the movie.
A Christmas Carol has been adapted by Hollywood many times before and through a modern lens with movies like 1988’s Scrooged starring Bill Murray, A Muppet Christmas Carol, and 2009’s Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. Details are thin about the creative liberties being made for Spirited, but the fact that it’s a musical definitely sets it apart, not only for the source material, but for Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell’s resume.
Will Ferrell has long been part of Christmas pop culture thanks to his role in Elf, so it will be interesting to see what he brings to another holiday project. Before Spirited, Ryan Reynolds will star in Free Guy this August 13 and Ferrell is keeping busy with a host of other upcoming projects as well.
