Fans remain in the dark over the release of Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans’ Christmas film, Red One.
Prime Video’s Red One has been in the news since the summer when it emerged. The producers are paying Dwayne Johnson $50 million for his services, making him the highest-paid actor of all time. Before The Rock, Robert Downey Jr. (Captain America: Civil War) and Will Smith (King Richard) held the record for the biggest paycheck ($40 million upfront) for a single role.
However, in recent months, apart from Johnson’s staggering earnings, we haven’t heard anything else related to the action-adventure, which was slated to release this Christmas Period.
What’s Happening With Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans’s Christmas Film Red One
Prime Video seemingly showed a lot of ambition to make Red One, bringing together superstars Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, and Lucy Liu among others. Further, to shape the original story by Hiram Garcia for our screens, the streaming giant roped in Fast & Furious writer Chris Morgan and Jumanji director Jake Kasdan.
Dwayne Johnson in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.
The plot remains under wraps but Johnson tried to generate hype for the action comedy by describing it in his own overzealous style on Instagram last year, stating:
“Our movie is a big, fun, action packed and fresh new take on Christmas Lore. … Think JUMANJI meets MIRACLE ON 34TH ST meets HOBBS & SHAW with a dash of HARRY POTTER and sprinkled on top with my all time favorite Christmas movie, IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE… let all that sink in.”
The teaser laden with some iconic Christmas movies is certainly exciting. However, Johnson’s teaser only makes sense if the movie releases during the festive period. We are in late December and still, there’s no trailer or any major update concerning Red One – the filming of which was wrapped in February of 2023.
What Chris Evans Said About His Christmas Movie With Dwayne Johnson
Akin to Johnson, Evans has also shown plenty of enthusiasm for the project, but at the same time has remained tight-lipped about its release date.
In November 2022, the Knives Out star revealed he will be portraying a character named Jack O’Malley opposite Johnson’s Callum Drift. Speaking to CBR he also shared his excitement over finally dipping his toe into a Christmas-related venture, stating:
“I’ve been in this industry for too long, but I’ve never seen a Christmas movie come across my lap. It’s never been on my radar. They happen. They’re occasional. But it’s never been something that’s come my way. So the fact that this one popped up, I was like ‘I can’t say no to this. I just can’t.’ And Dwayne is just unbelievable. He’s such a nice guy. He’s incredible at what he does actually, he’s so funny.”
Since no formal announcement has been made regarding the action adventure’s release date and the reason behind its delay, it’s all guesswork from hereon.
The most likely reason behind the movie’s failure to release this Christmas seems to be the recently concluded SAG-Aftra strike. Amazon paid Johnson and Evans big bucks to capitalize on their star power, but due to strike the star-laden cast wouldn’t have had enough time to drum up interest ahead of its release.
Now that the 2023 Christmas train has more or less left the station for Red One, it’ll be interesting to see if the streaming giant waits an entire year or just drops the movie in early 2024
