Chris Pratt To Star In Russo Brothers-Produced Remake Of Vietnamese Action-Comedy 'Saigon Bodyguards'

Chris Pratt will be reuniting with the Russo brothers, who directed the Guardians of the Galaxy star in Avengers: Infinity War, to star in an English-language remake of the Vietnamese action-comedy hit Saigon Bodyguards. Pratt will be starring opposite Wu Jing, the star of the Chinese action franchise phenomenon Wolf Warrior.

Deadline reports that Universal Pictures has landed the rights to Saigon Bodyguards, the 2016 Vietnamese action-comedy following two professional bodyguards who accidentally let their most important asset slip away. Mega producers Joe and Anthony Russo (Avengers: Endgame) are set to produce the English-language Saigon Bodyguards remake, which is set to star Chris Pratt and Wolf Warrior star Wu Jing. The project reunites the Russo brothers with their Infinity War star Pratt, but also with Wu, who starred in Wolf Warriors 2, the highest grossing non-English-language film ever made, on which the Russos served as consultants.

Described as a "high-octane action comedy," Saigon Bodyguards is a pretty straightforward buddy-cop comedy: two security guards, one a "straight arrow" and the other a "doof," try to find a corporate heir who get kidnapped from under their noses. Considering Pratt's biggest roles, it's likely that he will be cast as the "doof," though the actor has been choosing more straight-man leading roles lately. But having seen the very serious (and thus, unintentionally funny) Wolf Warrior movies, Wu can only play the straight arrow, so that's likely how things will shape up.

From the casting of Pratt and Wu, it seems Universal is aiming for a repeat of the Rush Hour dynamic between Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, which spawned three films. But Tucker was a known funnyman and Chan a Buster Keaton-esque physical comedian, while Pratt and Jing will likely veer to the more self-serious.

But maybe not too self-serious based on the wacky trailer for the original Saigon Bodyguards, which was directed by Ken Ochiai (Ninja the Monster) and produced by Rhombus Media and TNA Entertainments.

It would be nice to see Pratt return to his comedy roots, as the star has been increasingly losing his likability the more he takes himself seriously as an actor. And the Russo brothers got their beginnings in comedy, wowing with their genre-hopping skills in Community. Both Pratt and the Russos, with the latter producing grim action thrillers like Extraction and Mosul for Netflix, could use a few laughs.

Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck (What Men Want, HBO's Veep) are writing the script for the Saigon Bodyguards remake. Pratt will produce through his Indivisible Productions alongside Joe and Anthony Russo and Mike Larocca, who will produce through their AGBO production banner.