Hannah Waddingham has signed on to the Universal action thriller, The Fall Guy, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Based on the 1980s Lee Majors TV show, but with a twist, the Drew Pearce-written script focuses on a long-past-his-prime stuntman, played by Ryan Gosling, who ends up getting hired again to work with his former partner, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, only for the star to go missing.
The Ted Lasso star is playing the producer of the stunt-filled movie, which finds itself in trouble after the disappearance of its lead actor. She joins Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Stephanie Hsu and Winston Duke in the feature, while David Leitch is in the director’s chair for the bombastic flick, with shooting currently underway in Australia.
Blunt has been cast in the role of a prosthetic makeup artist working on the film, who has previously been romantically involved with Gosling’s stuntman. Duke plays the stuntman’s long-suffering best friend, while Hsu is playing the part of the missing movie star’s personal assistant. Leitch boarded the film after overseeing Bullet Train for Sony Pictures, which was a box office success, grossing $239.3 million. His other previous films include Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, and he co-directed the original John Wick alongside Chad Stahelski. Writer Pearce was the writer on Iron Man 3, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (story), and Hobbs & Shaw, and directed his debut feature Hotel Artemis in 2018.
Waddingham has had a breakout few years since joining Ted Lasso. Having received immense critical acclaim for portrayal of AFC Richmond owner Rebecca Welton in the Apple TV+ show, she was commended with two Emmy nominations (and one win), and wins for Critics’ Choice Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award as part of the best ensemble, which includes star Jason Sudeikis.
In addition, Waddingham has also featured recently on Netflix’s Sex Education, which is returning for its fourth season soon, as well as joining the all-star cast of the new animated adaptation of the world’s grumpiest cat, Garfield. And, as if that wasn’t enough, she appeared fabulously in Hocus Pocus 2 for Disney+, where she played Mother Witch, the spellcaster who gave the infamous Sanderson sisters their magical abilities.
With a fantastic cast on board, and a director/writer duo who have shown themselves more than capable of bring crowdpleasing action on a blockbuster scale, Universal will have high hopes for the film which they expect will be a strong performer on their spring schedule in 2024.
The Fall Guy has been set for release on March 1, 2024.
