In a delicious twist of irony, Amazon Studios is developing a spy movie about the United States Postal Service titled, appropriately enough, The U.S.P.S.
Jermaine Fowler, who starred in the streamer's hit sequel Coming 2 America, is in talks to star in the action-comedy, which is based on a 2020 Black List screenplay by Perry Janes.
The story follows Michael Griffiths (Fowler), whose life is upended when his mother is killed in the line of duty as a postal carrier with a mail route full of surprises. He soon discovers his mother was part of a covert, highly-trained spy organization that hides in plain sight -- the United States Postal Service.
I've gotta tell ya, that's a damn good logline right there, as it allows you to imagine a Kingsman-like universe and a far more diverse one at that. What's ironic, of course, is that Amazon and the United States Postal Service have a love-hate relationship of sorts. On one hand, the USPS makes a lot of money delivering millions of Amazon packages each year, but on the other hand, due to the retail giant's sweetheart deal with the post office, it's fair to say Amazon treats the USPS like an undervalued errand boy. The nature of their co-dependent relationship will likely have no bearing on this spy movie, but it sure is interesting to think about from a macro perspective.
But I digress. The USPS will be a co-production between Amazon Studios, Imagine Entertainment and Chronology, whose Eric Heisserer and Carmen Lewis will produce with Imagine's Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Karen Lunder. How did Imagine get involved? Janes is an alumnus of the company's Impact accelerator program.
Fowler starred on the CBS sitcom Superior Donuts and his indie movie credits include Sorry to Bother You, Buffaloed and The Opening Act. He even pops up in an uncredited role in Judas and the Black Messiah. Fowler just wrapped the indie movie Am I OK? with Dakota Johnson, and you can catch him as Eddie Murphy's long-lost son in Coming 2 America, which is currently streaming on Amazon. I still haven't watched the sequel yet, but when I do, you'll be the first to know.