Will Ferrell’s Next Comedy Finds A Streaming Home
That escalated quickly.
Will Ferrell has a new movie coming, and you’ll only need to click your remote to see it. According to Deadline, Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service just won a bidding war for the rights to Ferrell’s next flick, a wedding-themed comedy from writer/director Nick Stoller (Get Him to the Greek, Neighbors). As we reported weeks ago, Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line, Legally Blonde) is set to star in the film as well, which does not yet have a title, and a start of production has not been announced. No details about the plot or any additional cast members have been revealed, other than it being a wedding comedy. The acquisition by Amazon is no surprise for the #2 streaming service, with a reported 175 million subscribers. They have paid big bucks for exclusive films and content in recent years, including Eddie Murphy’s Coming 2 America, the Jack Ryan series, and of course, their Lord of the Rings series, with a multi-season budget nearing a billion dollars.
Despite starring in some of the biggest comedy hits ever, Will Ferrell has starred in a string of misfires, and most of his recent appearances have been on television, most notably the Apple TV+ series The Shrink Next Door with Paul Rudd and Kathryn Hahn. His last feature film in which he was the leading man was the Netflix film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, which was met with mixed reviews. His last major theatrical release, Downhill with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, bombed at the box office in 2020, pulling just over 8 million despite a wide release before the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered theaters. His 2018 comedy Holmes & Watson was an unmitigated disaster, both at the box office and among critics, who called it one of the worst films of the year.
Still, Ferrell remains a favorite among movie fans, and his films continue to do well on streaming services. His 2003 hit Old School just cracked the top five most-watched movie list on Netflix, for no apparent reason whatsoever. Within a five year span, from 2004-2008, Ferrell starred in an unprecedented string of classic comedies, including Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Blades of Glory, Semi-Pro, and Step Brothers. 2003’s Elf, of course, remains the biggest hit of his career, bringing in over $225 million worldwide and becoming a Christmas movie tradition, alongside films like It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story. Along the way, he’s also picked up three Primetime Emmy Awards for his television work.
Now with the pandemic behind us, and theaters worldwide fully open, Will Ferrell has a lineup of films ready to mark his theatrical comeback. He is currently filming the long-awaited big-screen adaptation of Barbie, playing a villainous Mattel Toys executive opposite Margot Robbie in the lead and Ryan Gosling, who plays Ken. He will next be seen in Spirited opposite Ryan Reynolds and Octavia Spencer in a musical remake of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, coming to Apple TV+. He is also starring in Josh Greenbaum’s comedy Strays. Ferrell made a smart choice in pairing with Stoller, a comedy movie guru of sorts, for his Amazon film. Stoller also directed Forgetting Sarah Marshall, The Five-Year Engagement, Storks, and Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising.
