Code 3 Will Team Up Lil Rel Howery And Rain Wilson For A New Action Comedy
Stressful days at work take on new meaning when you're a paramedic, and in "Code 3," the upcoming buddy action-comedy from Wayfarer Studios and Circle of Confusion, two paramedics have the wildest day possible (all for our entertainment!). Deadline revealed that Lil Rel Howery ("Get Out") and Rainn Wilson ("Weird: The Al Yankovic Story") will star as the pair of paramedics, saving lives and making us laugh. "Code 3" is still in pretty early production, so details are subject to change and the cast will continue to grow, but the movie already sounds like a lot of fun.
The work of a paramedic might not seem all that funny (just look at "Bringing Out the Dead"), but given the bizarre situations that many people get themselves into, I can imagine there's still humor to be found. Not every call is a nightmare, and there's probably some ridiculous and funny stuff that happens too. Here's everything we know so far about "Code 3," set to go into production in Los Angeles in February 2023.
What we think Code 3 will be about
The original Deadline announcement said that the movie will be about two EMTs: one who is on his very last day and retiring, and one who is training to be his replacement. The two have to work on one final 24-hour-hour shift together in order to complete the training, and as one could imagine, any wild thing that could possibly happen does happen. My guess is that means there's at least one person with something stuck in an orifice, some people in truly perilous situations, and maybe some kind of escaped zoo animal attack. (Maybe a dik dik? It has horns!)
As for the title: a "code 3" is the code in ambulance lingo in the United States for an emergency situation where the lights and sirens need to be turned on and the emergency vehicle needs to travel without delay. ("Code 1" means no lights, no sirens, and "code 2" allows for the lights but no sirens!)
What we know about the Code 3 cast and crew
As far as the cast goes, the only two announced so far are Howery and Wilson, both of whom are comedic powerhouses in their own right. Howery burst onto the scene with his role as a heroic TSA agent in Jordan Peele's "Get Out," but he has since starred in films ranging from the terrifying Netflix hit "Bird Box" to the hilarious reality road trip prank film "Bad Trip," showing off his impressive range. Wilson is best known for playing Dwight on the NBC sitcom "The Office," which earned him three Emmy nominations and a permanent place among reaction memes. Recently he starred as Dr. Demento in the Roku film "Weird: The Al Yankovic Story."
There's no word yet on who's playing which paramedic, but based purely on age Wilson is probably the embittered, retiring elder while Howery is the new recruit. Wilson is great at playing grumps and Howery is hilarious when he plays wide-eyed and terrified, so this sounds like a perfect movie match. The script for "Code 3" was co-written by former paramedic Patrick Pianezza and director Christopher Leone ("Parallels"). Often reality is stranger than fiction, so I imagine having a real former paramedic help co-write the film is going to make it much, much funnier.
Stay tuned to /Film for updates on "Code 3" as they happen!