While talking about his latest movie release Bullet Train in an interview with Collider, film director David Leitch took a little time to give some love to his upcoming action flick The Fall Guy, which stars Ryan Gosling (The Gray Man) as a Hollywood stuntman who doubles down as a bounty hunter. Production is set to begin filming in Australia soon.
During the interview, Collider’s own Steve Weintraub asked if Leitch could shed some light on the project, as we’ve gotten little information since Gosling was announced as the lead back in May. The filmmaker talked about the original story that inspired the movie, and what release window the studio is aiming for:
“I can tell you a little. It’s a reimagining of the show from the ’80s, the late ’70s, early ’80s, starring Lee Majors. It’s about a stuntman who gets embroiled in some crazy drama outside of the movie business, and mayhem ensues. And so, there’s fun and action, and we’re trying to make a big summer movie with it. And Universal’s incredibly supportive, and Ryan’s been really collaborative on the material, and we’re starting shooting in October. And so, we’re in pre-production right now.”
In addition, Leitch spoke about the metalinguistic experience that a project set within Hollywood provides. Leitch confirmed that we can look forward to movie-industry cameos, and that the idea is to have fun with the concept while also using their personal experiences as filmmakers to tell this story:
“We’ll definitely want to have fun with the movie world. I think, again, for all of us involved, it’s sort of like, ‘Yes, it’s about a stuntman.’ So whatever drama that’s happening to this guy, it’s like any other movie. It’s a great world for that drama to be happening in. And then it’s so rich with anecdotes from Kelly [McCormick, producer]’s experiences, my experiences, Ryan’s experiences. We’re definitely going to have a lot of fun playing with the movie, our movie experiences inside of this movie.”
This isn’t Leitch’s first venture into the stunt world. Before becoming a director, he worked as a stunt double and stunt coordinator in movies like The Matrix franchise, Underworld Evolution, Tron: Legacy, and many, many others. Incidentally, this is also not the first time Gosling plays a stunt double: In 2011’s Drive, he played a Hollywood stunt driver who also had a side hustle with questionable ethics.
Universal is yet to reveal further details from The Fall Guy, including additional cast and release date. While we wait for more info about his next film, check out the opening credits for The Fall Guy TV series and here’s what Leitch said about the Nobody sequel starring Bob Odenkirk.
