Back in June of 2021, it was revealed that Dwayne Johnson is set to star in Red One, a mysterious action-comedy holiday film from Amazon Studios. The project — which was conceived by Seven Bucks Productions' President of Production Hiram Garcia — is being written by Chris Morgan (Hobbs & Shaw, Shazam! Fury of the Gods) and helmed by Jake Kasdan (Bad Teacher, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle).
Not much has been shared about Red One since it was first announced, but now, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Chris Evans will co-star in the film alongside Johnson. No details about Evans' character were provided. This is yet another high-profile project for the former Captain America actor, who's also set to star in a Gene Kelly film and headline Apple's Ghosted alongside Ana de Armas.
As previously mentioned, plot details about Red One have been kept tightly under wraps, though some vague descriptions give us a better idea of what to expect. The film's official press release, for example, described it as "A globe-trotting, four-quadrant action-adventure comedy, imagining a whole new universe to explore within the holiday genre."
Furthermore, during an interview with Slash Film, Hiram Garcia said: "It is very much Hobbs and Shaw meets Guardians of the Galaxy meets Miracle on 34th Street. It's going to take holiday mythology and turn it on its head. Really, it's hard to find another Christmas movie to even compare to it. I don't think there's ever been anything done like this in that space [...]."
What makes the secrecy surrounding Red One so fascinating is that the film doesn't appear to be your traditional motion picture. When the project was announced, Variety released a snippet from its press release, which teased:
"[This] unique concept represents a property that could encompass not only a tentpole film, but could reach beyond entertainment across multiple industries and businesses."
THR further explained that "The businesses [stemming from Red One] could include the gift-giving enterprises that thrive during the holiday season (and that, of course, includes Amazon and Amazon Prime)."
As part of the film's announcement, Johnson referred to Red One as a unique "universe":
"Our Seven Bucks is very bullish on our partnership with Amazon Studios; underpinned with some innovation, some pioneering and a lot of positive energy and passion. I’ve been very impressed with [Amazon Studios Chief] Jen Salke and her team’s vision and ambition to create an enormous, fun and unique Red One holiday universe for families around the world to enjoy."
Red One is an easily marketable venture due to its recognizable stars and mass-appeal factor, but it doesn't look like its promotion will be at all traditional. In fact, going by the descriptions above, it could very well become something game-changing for the movie industry.
Regardless of what the film ends up being and how it connects to Amazon's other ventures, Red One looks to be one of those projects we need to keep our eyes on. Seven Bucks Productions stated that production is expected to begin this year, so we'll hopefully get more information about the movie in the near future.
No premiere date has been revealed for Red One, but it is expected to be released during the 2023 holidays.