Gal Gadot hopped aboard as well.
Rawson Marshall Thurber, Johnson’s director on both Central Intelligence and Skyscraper, is set to helm Red Notice, which is described as a globetrotting heist film. Production was at one time reported to be touching off in early 2019, but the movie’s release date Jungle Cruise all coming out before Red Notice.
Now, in a very interesting development, Universal has moved on from Red Notice, with Netflix coming in to take over. As reported by Deadline, Universal first balked at moving forward with the film after director Thurber pitched a budgeted screenplay late last month. Thanks to clauses in the original deal, a window opened during which the movie was pitched to Netflix, who immediately signed off (Netflix was reportedly narrowly beaten out by Universal in initial bidding for the film last year). Sweetening the deal even further is the addition of Ryan Reynolds to the cast, a move that now gives Red Notice three bona fide superstars. The film has been greenlit to begin production in 2020.
Details on the plot of Red Notice are hard to come by, but the story reportedly involves an international agent pursuing a wanted art thief. It’s also been reported that the script contains a third main character, the story’s villain. It’s not yet known which part will go to each of the movie’s three stars. Red Notice now actually becomes the second teaming between Johnson and Netflix, John Henry and the Statesman, a folklore-inspired tale. But, Red Notice will actually go into production before John Henry, making it Johnson’s actual first Netflix movie.
Interestingly, news of this deal comes on the heels of a separate report saying Netflix Bird Box, but Red Notice feels like a leap into an even bigger league, given the star power involved, and the globetrotting action-thriller plot.
Source: Deadline
