Patrick Hughes, who directed the 2017 Ryan Reynolds-Samuel L. Jackson action-comedy The Hitman’s Bodyguard, is on board to helm Man From Toronto, which the studio has slotted for a Nov. 20 release. It will be a tight turnaround as the project is eyeing a March production start.
The story uses a case of a mistaken identity as its jumping-off point after the world’s deadliest assassin, known as the Man from Toronto, and a New York City screw-up run into each other at an Airbnb. A clash of personalities, and a clash with deadly killers, ensues. (The new project is in no way related to 1933’s The Man From Toronto, a romantic comedy.)
Robbie Fox wrote the script from a story by Fox and Jason Blumenthal. Blumenthal is producing along with Todd Black and Steve Tisch, his partners at Escape Artists. Escape Artists produced the 2019 sleeper hit The Upside, which starred Hart.
Sony hopes to capture the vibe, and the box office returns, of the actors’ previous individual hits Central Intelligence and Hobbs & Shaw.
Hughes, who hails from Australia, made his feature helming debut with the 2010 police thriller Red Hill and made his Stateside debut with 2014’s The Expendables 3. His sequel to The Hitman’s Bodyguard, titled The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, is in postproduction with an eye toward a late August release.
Hart is currently on screens with Jumanji: The Next Level, which has grossed over $737.2 million worldwide. He is also starring in the comedic drama Fatherhood for Sony.
Statham and Dwayne Johnson toplined Hobbs & Shaw, which grossed over $760 million worldwide. Statham previously worked with Hughes on The Expendables 3.
Hart is repped by UTA, 3 Arts Entertainment and Schreck Rose; Statham is with WME and Goodman Schenkman and Hughes is repped by WME and Felker Toczek.
