Besides his hysterical turn as Ken in director Greta Gerwig’s smash hit Barbie, two of the best Ryan Gosling movies have given us equally important roles that come from two very different corners. On one hand, his stoic but ass kicking lead in Drive knew how to wreck shop and barely say a word. Right across the table from that archetype is The Nice Guys’ Holland March, who was always better at running his mouth than running for his life.
Those two roles seem to be mashed up in director David Leitch’s cinematic reboot of the TV series The Fall Guy, and that’s exactly why I’m so pumped to see it in action on the 2024 movie schedule. Universal’s first trailer for the latest 87North action extravaganza is fresh and ready for you to see, and as you can witness yourself, this has a lot of potential.
At the heart of it all is Colt (Ryan Gosling), a faded stunt performer who’s cast into the unexpected. Which is exactly what may describe the feeling people may have when realizing that David Leitch's latest romp is a cinematic reboot of the NBC show of the same name. Though this Fall Guy looks more like a private detective than the bounty hunter that Lee Majors played between 1981 and 1986.
It looks like there’s a murder mystery and an action thriller mixed together here, as The Fall Guy’s cast includes Emily Blunt as old flame/sparring partner Jody. Director and daredevil are hashing things out after meeting for the first time since their relationship went south. Taking rapid fire dialogue and increasingly dangerous situations in equal measure, Ryan Gosling has his work cut out for him in this lethal caper.
Quicker than you can say Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, the Shane Black-esque shenanigans start to come on fast and fierce. Which kind of makes sense, as The Fall Guy writer Drew Pearce also has co-writing duties from Iron Man 3 on his resume. And believe it or not, this project’s been kicking around since an announcement from back in 2010. I guess patience really is key to making it in this business, especially when the clips you see above are the payoff.
To be totally honest, I’ve been waiting for this next 87North project for some time. Between assembling a cast that includes Hannah Waddingham, Stephanie Hsu, and Winston Duke all in on the jokes and pokes, and the promise of the “Jason Bourne shit” that the company excels at, The Fall Guy is practically bait to get me into a theater. After watching this first trailer, I’m glad to know that the promise looks as exciting as the on-paper formula.
Unfortunately, for myself and the rest of you folks out there, The Fall Guy is hitting theaters on March 1, 2024. So we’ve still got some time to wait for this beautiful looking action-comedy-mystery to unfurl. That’s ok, as the rest of the 2023 movie release schedule still has some promising potential for laughs, action, and anything else you could be looking for.
