Stay in the loop on industry and casting news with our write-up on who’s been slated for recent film and television roles.
Please note that shoot dates are subject to state and county restrictions and may change. Refer to Call Sheet for updates, and keep checking Backstage for the latest news on project development during this time.
“Bad Boys 4”
Following the success of 2020’s “Bad Boys for Life,” megaproducer Jerry Bruckheimer is adding a fourth installment to his buddy-cop franchise. Martin Lawrence and Oscar winner Will Smith, who have starred in the films since Michael Bay’s original 1995 blockbuster, are back on the Miami streets in “Bad Boys 4” as narcotics detectives Marcus Burnett and Mike Lowrey. Rumors circled last year that development had been put on hold in light of Smith’s violent outburst at the 94th Academy Awards, but Lawrence confirmed that there was no truth to them. The sequel sees the return of the “Bad Boys for Life” creative team, including screenwriter Chris Bremner (“The Man From Toronto”) and directing duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (“Black,” “Rebel”). Additional casting is ongoing with Betty Mae. The action comedy will head into production in Atlanta and Miami this April.
“Re-election”
Screenwriter Adam Saunders (“Dotty & Soul,” “Mansplaining”) is adding directing to his résumé with “Re-election,” a coming-of-age drama from Footprint Features. The film follows Jimmy Bauer, a high school dropout who’s stuck in a rut at the age of 42; decades later, he’s still fixated on Manish Singh, his former classmate who toppled his three-year run as class president and is now the governor of Texas. When his rival announces that he’ll give his alma mater’s next class president a chance to work at the governor’s office, Jimmy goes back to school to finally get his diploma—and his revenge. Betty Mae Casting hasn’t announced any actors yet, but production is set to begin in New Jersey in early June.
“Don’t Move”
Genre master Sam Raimi is producing “Don’t Move,” a new horror thriller that takes the phrase “paralyzed by fear” literally. The story centers on a woman who must escape the clutches of a serial killer who has injected her with a paralytic agent. With the chemical rapidly spreading through her body, she has a limited amount of time to make her escape or make a stand before she’s no longer able to move. The feature comes from directing team Adam Schindler (“Intruder”) and Brian Netto (“Delivery: The Beast Within”), who previously collaborated on Raimi’s 2020 Quibi series “50 States of Fright.” T.J. Cimfel and David White (“There’s Something Wrong With the Children”) will pen the script. Nancy Nayor Casting is on the hunt for actors to join the project. Filming will begin in mid-April somewhere in the U.S.
This story originally appeared in the Mar. 2 issue of Backstage Magazine.