After finally winning his first acting Oscar for his role as Cliff Booth in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Brad Pitt went on to team up with director David Leitch for the action-comedy Bullet Train. Now, Ryan Gosling, whose scene-stealing role as Ken in Greta Gerwig's Barbie landed him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, is teaming up with Leitch for the explosive action-romantic-comedy The Fall Guy.

Based on a 1980s TV show of the same name starring Lee Majors, The Fall Guy tells the story of a Hollywood stuntman who gets caught up in a real-world dangerous mission. The premise brings a lot of opportunities to have fun with the story in addition to having some really stellar action, and with the creatives involved, we can expect the film to deliver on the promises of both. If all of that sounds like something you'd enjoy, read below to find out everything we know so far about The Fall Guy.

Editor's Note: This piece was updated on April 19, 2024.

Does 'The Fall Guy' Have a Release Date?

The Fall Guy is set to kick off the summer movie season as the action-comedy will hit theaters on May 3, 2024. The film was previously set for release on March 1, 2024, but was pushed back two months after Deadpool 3 vacated the slot due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.

The release date is clearly a sign of confidence from Universal. In an interview with Collider, Leitch revealed that the film has been testing incredibly well with audiences, going on to say:

"Well, it's testing incredibly well, and it is a crowd-pleaser. I think people love the chemistry between Ryan and Emily and they love how fun the movie is. Look, like Kelly said, he's like a blue-collar hero. It's an underdog story of a guy who self-actualizes into this superhero, and he gets to take down the bad guys and potentially, hopefully, get the love of his life back. And so, as one of our cast members says, “If you didn't enjoy this movie, you don't have a soul.” [Laughs] It's a really fun film that celebrates the below-the-line crews and, really, the blue-collar artisans that make the movies happen, and it's a separation of movies and moviemaking."

In an interview with Collider's Steve Weintraub, David Leitch revealed that The Fall Guy was initially supposed to be released before Barbie, saying:

“It’s funny, Kelly McCormick , my producer and my wife, we make these movies together. This is a very tight collaboration. We were fighting so hard to get Fall Guy off the ground before Barbie . The studio was really trying to pressure Ryan, if they could, like, 'Could we squeeze Fall Guy in before Barbie ?' We were trying to move up deadlines. We were really trying so hard, and then finally, we just couldn’t make production work to where we could get it done before he had to go to Barbie .

Now, in hindsight, it’s like the best thing that ever happened . So, you know. Problem, opportunity, folks. You just never know. That’s just how Hollywood is. But yeah, it’s really fortunate to be where Ryan and Emily [ Blunt ] are having such a well-deserved moment, and now we get to see them in our film . At this time, it’s an incredible gift."

The Fall Guy had its world premiere in Austin, Texas at the 2024 edition of SXSW in March. The film festival is no stranger to premiering big-budget movies early; past years have seen the premieres of titles such as Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Air, The Lost City, A Quiet Place, Ready Player One, and Baby Driver. It also marks David Leitch's second film to premiere at SXSW as his sophomore feature, Atomic Blonde, premiered at the festival in 2017.

Collider's Perri Nemiroff was lucky enough to get to attend the premiere and praised the movie, writing in her review:

I truly had a massive grin on my face from start to finish watching The Fall Guy. It’s an extremely well-crafted action movie that’s absolutely buzzing with energy and charm for all 125 minutes of its running time. What makes it an all-timer is how it functions as one big, loving celebration of cinema.

Will 'The Fall Guy' Be in Theaters or on Streaming?

Universal will initially release The Fall Guy exclusively in movie theaters, which shouldn't be too surprising considering the massive amount of star power behind the film. Movies from Universal hit digital for rent after a variable 17-to-45-day window based on the film's performance, before eventually landing on Peacock, and the same can be expected from The Fall Guy.

Is There a Trailer for 'The Fall Guy'?

Universal released the official three-and-a-half-minute trailer for The Fall Guy on November 2, 2023. Set to Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name," the trailer reveals the central unrequited romance between Gosling and Emily Blunt's characters. When a movie star goes missing, Gosling is forced by the movie studio to save him or else Blunt's movie will be shut down.

The film also looks to be leaning into comedy much like Leitch's previous films, as the premise of the film leads the characters to particularly humorous situations, along with inside meta jokes about Hollywood and dabs at the ugly side of the industry. The trailer also gives viewers a look at the other characters played by the film's stellar cast and gives everyone a taste of the film's incredible visuals, including the dystopian vignettes of the film-within-a-film.

Universal released the second full trailer for The Fall Guy on March 20, one week after its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival. Set to Journey's classic rock tune "Any Way You Want It," the extended look of the movie highlights the movie's goofy sense of humor and explosive action setpieces.

A one-minute spot for The Fall Guy was released during Super Bowl LVIII on February 11, announcing that the movie has everything, from aliens, unicorns, birds, and Ryan Gosling shirtless.

A featurette for The Fall Guy was released on March 14, showcasing a Guinness World Record that was performed on set for the most cannon rolls in a car.

A sneak peek for The Fall Guy titled "The Big Pitch: Part 1" was released by Universal on April 18, featuring David Leitch alongside Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, and Hannah Waddingham.

What Is 'The Fall Guy' About?

The Fall Guy follows Colt Seavers, an out-of-work stuntman, who gets invited by his ex-girlfriend, making her big-budget Hollywood directing debut, to be the stuntman for a hot up-and-coming action star who's a total jerk. When the star goes missing, Colt must find him and save him from Hollywood's dirty underbelly, in hopes of reconnecting with his past love, saving the film, and proving he's the best stuntman around.

The original TV show had an adventure-of-the-week plot, which also followed Colt Seavers played by Lee Majors, a stuntman moonlighting as a bounty hunter. The show had impressive stunts and effective action sequences for its time and budget and had a very tongue-in-cheek feeling to it. The movie adaptation is going for a much different tone, and it would be interesting to see how Leitch handles the comedy and action while telling a compelling narrative about a world he clearly knows a lot about.

Here's what producer Kelly McCormick had to say about the movie in an interview with Collider:

“David coming from stunts, and telling a story about a stuntman who is coming into his own through having to investigate a crime. [It’s] incredibly special in the sense that we get to do – We're really trying to do a lot of practical action on this. We always do, but in this case, it's really big practical action. And it just feels like we're paying homage to the stunt community and to, really, cinema and those of us who make the movies. And it's sort of a love letter to the industry. On top of it just being really fun and what I think will be a really good time for the audience.”

The official synopsis for the film from Universal reads:

He’s a stuntman, and like everyone in the stunt community, he gets blown up, shot, crashed, thrown through windows and dropped from the highest of heights, all for our entertainment. And now, fresh off an almost career-ending accident, this working-class hero has to track down a missing movie star, solve a conspiracy and try to win back the love of his life while still doing his day job. What could possibly go right?

From real life stunt man and director David Leitch, the blockbuster director of Bullet Train, Deadpool 2, Atomic Blonde and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw and the producer of John Wick, Nobody and Violent Night, comes his most personal film yet. A new hilarious, hard-driving, all-star apex-action thriller and love letter to action movies and the hard-working and under-appreciated crew of people who make them: The Fall Guy.

Who Stars in 'The Fall Guy'?

Leading the cast of The Fall Guy is Ryan Gosling playing the stuntman Colt Seavers. Gosling has previously played a stuntperson in one of his most iconic roles, as The Driver in Drive; he will once again be able to channel his comedic flair and natural ability to be funny and charismatic much like he did in Barbie and The Nice Guys.

In another interview with Collider's Steve Weintraub, Kelly McCormick, and David Leitch revealed that Gosling even did some of his own stunts, with McCormick saying:

“There were a few things that he did that, I mean, there was a descender at the beginning of the movie that he did himself, and it was such a huge dream for our rigging team to have an A-plus actor on literally a descender rigging system that, like, I don’t know, what was it, David? 15 stories high?”

Fresh off of her acclaimed turn in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer Emily Blunt will be playing Ryan Gosling's ex-girlfriend, Jody Moreno, a former stuntwoman who is making her directorial debut.

After previously working with Leitch on Bullet Train, Aaron Taylor-Johnson is reuniting with the filmmaker and will play Tom Ryder, the egotistical and cocky movie star who goes missing in the middle of filming Jody's big blockbuster movie.

The stacked cast of the film also includes Academy Award Nominee Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All At Once) as Alma Milan, Tom Ryder's assistant, Winston Duke (Black Panther) as Colt's best friend Dan Tucker, Emmy Award Winner Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso) as Gail Meyer, a film producer, and Teresa Palmer (Lights Out) as Iggy Star, Tom Ryder's girlfriend. It is also rumored that the original Fall Guy, Lee Majors, will have a cameo in the film.

During an interview with Collider's Christina Radish, Waddingham teased what we can expect from her character in the film, as well as her experience working on set with Gosling and Blunt.

It is a million miles more than the trailer, and that’s saying something, isn’t it? And I can’t wait for people to see me absolutely unrecognizable. It’s gonna be a “Wait, what?!” moment. And I might have fallen a little bit in love with both Emily [Blunt] and Ryan [Gosling]. They are epic.

Who Is Making 'The Fall Guy'?

It was originally reported that a film adaptation of The Fall Guy was in the works at DreamWorks way back in 2010, with Casino Royale director Martin Campbell attached, and a distribution deal struck with Disney's Touchstone Pictures. Later in 2013, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was in talks to star in the film with McG directing, but the film got stuck in development hell. In September 2020 it was announced that Leitch and Gosling would be teaming up for a drama revolving around a stuntman, but a title had yet to be revealed. Two years later, the film was officially greenlit by Universal and was revealed to be an adaptation of the television series.

When it comes to stylish action movies, David Leitch has quickly risen to be one of the most reliable names in Hollywood. Leitch, along with Chad Stahelski, changed the game with John Wick and their inventive action set pieces and perfectly choreographed stunt work, which has influenced almost every action film that has come out since. While Stahelski stayed back with the John Wick franchise, perfecting their craft and style over the course of four films, Leitch decided to branch out and lend his style to other movies like Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, and Bullet Train.

Leitch will be producing the film with his production company 87North along with directing the film, just as he did with Bullet Train. The film's screenplay is written by Drew Pearce, who has previously worked on Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw and Iron Man 3. The film is shot by director of photography Jonathan Sela, who has previously shot all of Leitch's films including John Wick and Deadpool 2. Kelly McCormick produces the film alongside Leitch, star Ryan Gosling, Guymon Casady, and original TV show creator Glen A. Larson serving as executive producer along with Drew Pearce and Geoff Shaevitz.

When and Where Did The Fall Guy Film?

Filming for The Fall Guy commenced in Sydney Australia on October 24, 2022. Leitch's 87North Productions announced the occasion on its official Instagram account.

On March 1, 2023, Kelly McCormick announced on her Instagram that filming had wrapped.

Will There Be a Sequel to ‘The Fall Guy’?

Although The Fall Guy hasn't been released yet, McCormick and Leitch have teased that this could be the start of a new franchise, with McCormick telling Collider:

"There's definitely more stories to tell. That was one of the fun things about making a movie within a movie is that there are so many Easter eggs or fodder from all of our experiences on sets, and there are so many more that we can give because it really is sort of truth is stranger than fiction on those things, you know? So, there's that opportunity, and then also, it's a little bit evergreen where they can just join if some kind of mystery thriller is gonna be tethered to another set. You can kind of do that and continue to do that, which is an exciting opportunity for a franchise. But obviously, this one's got to deliver. Hopefully, it does. We think it might."