Jason Momoa And Dave Bautista's Buddy Action-Comedy Sparks Major Bidding War With MGM Closing In
Social media can be very bad, and sometimes it can be very good. In this case, we're going to put this firmly in the good camp, as that Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista buddy/cop movie is actually happening. The whole project came together when Bautista posted on Twitter that he wanted it to happen. Now? The movie has a studio on board in the form of MGM, and it's apparently a rich deal for all involved.
As reported by Deadline, MGM is closing in on a deal for the untitled project that will star both Momoa, of "Aquaman" fame, and Bautista, best known as Drax in "Guardians of the Galaxy." Jonathan Tropper is penning the screenplay, having connected with Momoa on his Apple TV+ show "See," which also stars Bautista in its second season. The trio has developed the package together and recently began shopping it around. While other studios were interested, MGM came out on top.
Plot details remain under wraps but the report notes, "the pitch calls for the duo to play brothers in a 'Lethal Weapon'-esque buddy cop comedy likely to shoot in Hawaii." The only problem is that both actors are very busy. Momoa is currently shooting "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom," with Bautista shooting "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3." They are then both going to head back to the spice mines of Arrakis for "Dune Part Two," which films next summer. As such, this likely won't go before cameras until 2023. But it's happening. It's also said that both actors are in for rich paydays once filming does begin.
Twittering a Movie Into Existence
This all started, somewhat humbly, with a tweet from Bautista. The actor, back on August 19, put it out into the world that he would like to work with "Momoa" in a buddy/cop movie.
Just going to throw this out into the atmosphere and see what happens. Here we go… Me and Momoa in a Lethal Weapon type buddy cop movie directed by David Leitch. Ok! There it is. Now we wait.😬
— Vaxxed AF! #TeamPfizer Poor Kid Chasing Dreams. (@DaveBautista) August 19, 2021
"Just going to throw this out into the atmosphere and see what happens. Here we go... Me and Momoa in a Lethal Weapon type buddy cop movie directed by David Leitch. Ok! There it is. Now we wait," the actor tweeted. And thus began the process of willing this movie into existence. On "The Late Late Show," Momoa responded kindly to the idea, saying the following:
"I'm not on Twitter, but he literally texted me about four days ago going, 'We need to do a buddy cop film.' We love each other. We obviously met on 'See,' we're on 'Dune' together, and so I said, 'Absolutely.'"
At the moment, no director has been attached, so it's unclear if the dream will be fully realized with David Leitch ("John Wick," "Deadpool 2") behind the camera, though that doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility. We'll be sure to keep you posted as further details come our way.