Alison Brie And John Cena Join Action Comedy Freelance From Taken Director Pierre Morel
Two absolute champions of hilarity and wrestling (PLEASE NETFLIX, GIVE US MORE "GLOW") are joining forces for a new action-comedy from the man who wrote "Taken." John Cena and Alison Brie are set to star in "Freelance," a film about an ex-special forces operator who takes a job providing security for a journalist who is set to interview a dictator.
Everything is thrown into chaos when a military coup breaks out mid-interview and the odd couple, joined by the dictator, are forced to head into the jungle and survive the military, wild animals, and each other. The script comes from Jacob Lentz ("Jimmy Kimmel Live!," "Big Night of Stars") with Stuart Ford's AGC Studios behind the project and Steve Richards of Endurance Media, as well as Renee Tab and Christopher Tuffin of Sentient, producing.
Cena is quickly becoming one of the biggest stars in Hollywood thanks to his triple-threat summer of 2021 and his current run on HBO Max's DC series "Peacemaker." This isn't the first time (nor will it be the last) Cena has been tapped to play ex-military in a movie, and he's already proven that action comedies are where he thrives. Matching him up with Alison Brie's frenetic energy as the journalist he's tasked with protecting sounds like a recipe for perfection.
A Perfect Combination of Comedy Styles
Pairing up Cena and Brie together is a truly inspiring casting decision. Cena is obviously flying high after "Peacemaker" and Brie has been really carving out a name for herself with indie darlings following her run on "Glow." She's most known for her run as Annie Edison on "Community," but in recent years has really shown off her range in films like "Horse Girl," "Promising Young Woman," "The Rental," and "Happiest Season." She can be hilarious while acting naive and bubbly, or just as entertaining while being serious and sharp-tongued.
Over the years, John Cena's comedy styling has evolved him into a multi-faceted funnyman. We've seen him be an off-the-wall goof in movies like "Trainwreck" and "Vacation Friends," but also a funny tough guy thanks to performances like "Sisters," and "The Suicide Squad." Cena and Brie are currently the only two casting decisions that have been announced, leaving their third wheel, the dictator, still up in the air. The plot synopsis has not said what country the dictator is supposed to be from, but as of 2020 there were 52 nations under a dictatorship or authoritarian rule so there's plenty to choose from.