Zac Efron, Jermaine Fowler and John Cena have been tapped to star in award-winning director Peter Farrelly's new comedy Ricky Stanicky. The film, which marks a return to comedy for Farrelly, has started production in Melbourne, Queensland, Australia, and is set to stream worldwide on Amazon's Prime Video service.

The film's plot involves three friends who create a fictional character to get out of tricky situations, but are forced to hire an actor to play their friend when their significant others become suspicious of their behavior.

Fowler most recently starred in The Drop, a comedy series streaming on Hulu. He has also starred alongside Dakota Fanning in the comedy Am I Ok?, following his breakout role in Prime Video's hit film Coming 2 America. Fowler also appeared in the critically acclaimed Judas and the Black Messiah. He can be seen in the upcoming Lionsgate comedy slasher The Blackening, which releases June 16.

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Image Via Madman Entertainment

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Efron's most recent appearance was a starring role opposite Russell Crowe in the Apple TV+ original film The Greatest Beer Run Ever, which Farrelly also directed. In addition, he will star in the drama The Iron Claw, as well as an appearance with Nicole Kidman and Joey King in the romcom A Family Affair. On the small screen, Efron returned for a second season of his Daytime Emmy-winning series Down to Earth with Zac Efron.

Cena's most recent role was that of Peacemaker in the HBO Max original series of the same name. His upcoming credits include the tenth film in the Fast & Furious franchise Fast X, the sequel to Vacation Friends, and the live-action Warner Bros. film Coyote v. Acme.

Farrelly, a two time Academy Award winner, has a directorial resume which includes Dumb and Dumber, Shallow Hal, Kingpin, Hall Pass and There's Something About Mary. Overall, Farrelly's films have a combined global box office revenue of over $1 billion.

"We are excited to embark on this new project with comedy legend Peter Farrelly," Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon and MGM Studios said in a statement. "With Peter's expertise and what are sure-to-be hilarious performances from our stellar cast led by Zac Efron, John Cena and Jermaine Fowler, our Prime Video viewers around the world are in store for a bit of mischief and a lot of laughs."

"I’m very grateful to Amazon, as well as Paul Currie, Thorsten Schumacher, and John Jacobs, for finally bringing Ricky Stanicky to life," Farrelly said in his own statement.