Jonathan Majors Has Been Quietly Dropped From Dennis Rodman Movie 48 Hours In Vegas
Jonathan Majors will no longer play Dennis Rodman in an upcoming movie, a source tells CNN. According to the outlet, the actor has not officially been dropped from the project — which is tentatively titled "48 Hours in Vegas" — yet, but sources say the movie is being shopped around without Majors attached after the initial version in development seemed poised to go over budget. As one source put it, "I cannot imagine a world where this moves forward with Jonathan."
Majors was a rising star in recent years, earning praise for his roles in projects like "The Last Black Man in San Francisco," "Creed III," and "Da 5 Bloods" and nabbing a massive role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as overarching villain Kang the Conqueror. But in March 2023, Majors was arrested for a domestic violence incident and later found guilty of assault and harassment.
Marvel officially cut ties with Majors after his conviction, and another upcoming project he was due to star in, the Sundance thriller "Magazine Dreams," is absent from the Searchlight Pictures release schedule. There's also been no news about Spike Lee's in-development film "Da Understudy" since Majors was reported to be lined up for the lead role in March 2023, a few weeks before his arrest.
Dennis Rodman's wild weekend
"48 Hours in Vegas" was first announced in March 2023, with Majors due to play the eccentric basketball superstar during a film spotlighting what may have been the wildest weekend of his NBA career. The former Chicago Bulls forward famously left the NBA finals midway through for a trip to Las Vegas, where he reportedly partied with Carmen Electra and appeared in a World Championship Wrestling event alongside Hulk Hogan.
As recounted in the Netflix docuseries "The Last Dance," coach Phil Jackson allowed Rodman to leave the post-season for a quick vacation, but when he didn't return in time, Jackson and fellow teammate Michael Jordan had to go to Sin City to retrieve him themselves. At the time of the film's initial announcement in 2021 (Majors was not yet attached at that point), CBS Sports quoted Lionsgate's Nathan Kahane as saying:
"There's only one Dennis Rodman. In 1998, there was nobody on Earth who'd be more fun — or maybe more dangerous — to party with. And yet that's not even half of who he is. This movie takes you on an unforgettable ride with the myth, the legend, and also the man that Dennis is, behind everything you think you know."
According to CNN's sources, Lionsgate has now released the project back to its producers so that it can be shopped around. It may find a new home, it may ultimately end up back at Lionsgate, or it may simply remain stuck in development hell.