After a bidding war involving several studios and streaming services, Amazon has landed a big fish with “Red Shirt”. The lead role in the spy thriller from the “John Wick” maker will be played by Channing Tatum!
They all wanted him for themselves. We’re talking about “Red Shirt”, a spy thriller for which Paramount, Universal, Netflix and Sony, among others, fought a fierce bidding war to win the rights. As Deadline now exclusively reports, Amazon Studios ultimately had the upper hand. By the way, this does not mean that the film will appear directly in the Amazon Prime Video subscription (like “The Tomorrow War”, for example). “Red Shirt” could also get a theatrical release first.
Plot details are still being kept under wraps so far. However, it is said to be an international espionage thriller, which is reminiscent of this year’s “The Gray Man” on Netflix, for example. Channing Tatum (“The Lost City”) will be in the leading role. The choice of director is also interesting, as “Red Shirt” will be directed by David Leitch. The former stuntman made a name for himself as a filmmaker with “John Wick”, which he directed together with Chad Stahelski. This was followed by other action films such as “Atomic Blonde”, “Deadpool 2”, “Hobbs & Shaw” and most recently “Bullet Train” with Brad Pitt.
The idea for “Red Shirt” also comes from someone not unknown: Simon Kinberg. He is not only active as a screenwriter (e.g. for the “X-Men” series since “The Last Stand”), but has also already proven his love for the twisty spy genre this year with “The 355”, which he wrote and directed. It is not yet clear whether Simon Kinberg will also write the script for “Red Shirt”. In any case, he is producing the thriller together with David Leitch and Channing Tatum.
Speaking of Channing Tatum: If you had a lot of fun with “The Lost City” and “Dog” this year and don’t want to wait too long to see Channing Tatum in action again, you’re in luck: “Magic Mike’s Last Dance”, in which Tatum tries to put on a big live striptease show, opens in German cinemas on 9 February 2023. He is supported by Salma Hayek. You can watch the trailer here
