The Big Picture
David Leitch shares the behind-the-scenes story of how his film,
The Fall Guy
, ended up benefiting from a production delay.
Initially, they wanted the action comedy to be released before Greta Gerwig’s
Barbie
, but now Leitch is thrilled it’s coming out after Gosling won our hearts as Ken.
The Fall Guy
also benefits from Emily Blunt’s award nominated turn in
Oppenheimer
. Blunt and Gosling return to the big screen on May 3.
David Leitch is here to remind you that sometimes the universe has things under control and all you have to do is shift your perspective. During Collider’s Directors on Directing panel at WonderCon, moderated by Steve Weintraub, the Atomic Blonde and Deadpool 2 helmer shared how a scheduling snafu turned into a fortuitous twist of fate after he and the team involved with his upcoming comedy-action flick, The Fall Guy were unable to swap its release date to land in cinemas ahead of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. Both projects share Ryan Gosling as their leading man and, while Leitch was hoping to get his movie out there first, the slowdown ended up being an extra boost in the right direction as Gosling landed nominations at the Golden Globes, BAFTAs, Oscars, and SAG Awards for his work in Gerwig’s blockbuster film.
In response to Weintraub asking him, “How happy are you to have this as Ryan’s first movie after Barbie?” Leitch responded, “So happy,” before digging into the juicy behind-the-scenes details about the film’s hopeful early release. He explained:
“It’s funny,
Kelly McCormick
, my producer and my wife, we make these movies together. This is a very tight collaboration. We were fighting so hard to get
Fall Guy
off the ground before
Barbie
. The studio was really trying to pressure Ryan, if they could, like, ‘Could we squeeze
Fall Guy
in before
Barbie
?’ We were trying to move up deadlines. We were really trying so hard, and then finally, we just couldn’t make production work to where we could get it done before he had to go to
Barbie
.
Now, in hindsight,
it’s like the best thing that ever happened
. So, you know. Problem, opportunity, folks. You just never know. That’s just how Hollywood is. But yeah, it’s really fortunate to be where Ryan and
Emily
[
Blunt
]
are having such a well-deserved moment, and
now we get to see them in our film
. At this time, it’s an incredible gift.”
Emily Blunt’s Big Year on the Silver Screen
Gosling isn’t the only one to have reached peak success in 2023, as his The Fall Guy co-star, Blunt, was one of many names to fill out the star-studded cast of Christopher Nolan’s historical epic, Oppenheimer. Like her on-screen love interest in Leitch’s latest project, Blunt also heralded praise for her performance as Kitty Oppenheimer, nabbing nominations at the Oscars, Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and SAG Awards. With the hype surrounding his two leading stars, Leitch couldn’t be in a better position for the May 3 release of The Fall Guy.
Related ‘The Fall Guy’: Release Date, Cast, Plot, and Everything We Know About the Ryan Gosling Movie Ryan Gosling and David Leitch team up to bring the classic ’80s TV series to the big screen.
You can check out the full panel on Collider soon and read more about The Fall Guy in our all-encompassing guide above.
The Fall Guy
Colt Seavers is a stuntman who left the business a year earlier to focus on both his physical and mental health. He’s drafted back into service when the star of a mega-budget studio movie, which is being directed by his ex, goes missing.
Release Date May 3, 2024
Runtime 114 minutes
Writers Drew Pearce , Glen A. Larson
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