Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista Will Try to Fit on the Same Screen in Upcoming Buddy Cop Comedy
A couple of beefcakes are making a Lethal Weapon-style buddy cop comedy — and somehow, neither one of them is Rob McElhenney.
Aquaman’s Jason Momoa and WWE-heel-turned-A-list-actor Dave Bautista will star in an untitled action-comedy that Bautista recently told Insider is set to start shooting early next year. Bautista first teased the film in August 2021 in a tweet where he pitched, “Just going to throw this out into the atmosphere and see what happens. Here we go… Me and Momoa in a Lethal Weapon type buddy cop movie directed by David Leitch,” before declaring, “Now we wait.”
A year and a half later, we’re still waiting, but Bautista believes that we’re approaching the light at the end of the tunnel — though it’s unclear if Bullet Train director Leitch will be attached to the project, MGM has already backed the movie and Bautista has full faith that it will be a success. Somehow, it seems like a safe bet that a blockbuster can be made by combining the talents of two of the biggest action stars in Hollywood — and we mean biggest.
“We are looking at early 2024,” Bautista told Insider, noting that his schedule has filled up for 2023 and, with Momoa working on an upcoming Minecraft movie, the hope that their Lethal Weapon muscleman movie could shoot before the end of the year is likely in vain. “But we have a great script,” Bautista reassured. “MGM is still dedicated to doing this film. Me and Jason together, I think it’s going to be a hit.”
Not long after the untitled script was purchased by MGM, Momoa appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden and discussed the aspects of the pitch that most attracted him to the project — the film will be shot in Momoa’s native Hawaii, a decision that was predictably easy for the duo. Momoa told his host, “Dave loves wearing Speedos, I love wearing board shorts and both of us with our shirts off, you know, buddy cop film, he’ll be grumpy and I’ll be charming. Boom. It sells itself.”
“I’ve got the hair, he doesn’t have hair,” Momoa added, joking, “we cover all the demographics.”
