Alison Brie and John Cena are teaming up for a new action-comedy called Freelance! The movie is to be directed by the helmer of the first Taken movie Pierre Morel. In an exclusive from The Hollywood Reporter, they're reporting that AGC Studios, run by Stuart Ford, is behind the project. Steve Richards of Endurance Media, Sentient’s Renee Tab, and Christopher Tuffin serve as producers.
Written by Jacob Lentz, Freelance tells the story of an ex-special forces operator who takes a job protecting a journalist who is trying to save her career by interviewing a dictator. But when a military coup breaks out in the middle of their interview, the three must escape into the jungle and must survive the animals awaiting them, the military searching for them, and the mix-matched nature of their own relationships.
Cena is coming hot off his run as Christopher Smith aka Peacemaker in the HBO series Peacemaker from James Gunn. He's made a career as our strong funnyman after leaving his work with the WWE behind him and making a name for himself as one of the biggest names in Hollywood. A movie like Freelance sounds right up Cena's alley. We know he can handle the comedy after his work with Amy Poehler and Tina Fey in the 2015 film Sisters and Peacemaker so taking on an ex-special forces operator feels like the right next step for the actor.
Paired with Brie, the two sound perfectly cast for the role! Brie has played a range of comedy icons. Fans of Community probably remember her best for playing Annie Edison on the hit show from Dan Harmon, but she's also made iconic shows like GLOW as well as movies like Sleeping With Other People, Happiest Season, and more. Given her work on GLOW, it is interesting to see both Cena and Brie working together. GLOW gave us a fictional look at the real-life at the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling and almost everyone knows of Cena's WWE career (people do still love to yell "You can't see me" at Cena after all).
The premise sounds original and yet familiar at the same time. It has been a while since we've seen a comedy that is a patchwork of characters thrown together trying to get out alive. And the return to this format with incredible comedians like Brie and Cena means we're in for a great time with Freelance!