Academy Award winner J.K. Simmons flexes with action movie superstar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as a superhero version of Saint Nick in the latest look at Red One. On social media, Johnson shared pictures of Simmons’ Santa, who is clearly in great shape as he lifts a tremendous amount of weight before the holidays. “Ladies, gentlemen & children of all ages,” he said in a caption next to the image from Red One, “the coolest, strongest, kindest, most bad ass, most loving & most OG Santa Claus of all time. “Brought to life by Academy Award winner, J.K. Simmons who worked his ass off for months to step into this iconic role in AMAZING SHAPE for our Christmas franchise film, RED ONE,” he continued. “We’re having a BLAST and so will you and your families when you see our movie!!”
Sporting a large, white beard and a primarily red ensemble, Simmons’ Santa Claus has traded in the classic rotundness for a set of formidable biceps. Little has been revealed regarding the plot of Red One. Still, the movie promises to be “a globe-trotting, four-quadrant action-adventure comedy imagining a whole new universe to explore within the holiday genre.”Johnson recently hinted at the nature of Red One, comparing it to several of his own hit films as well as several classic holiday movies. “Think JUMANJI meets MIRACLE ON 34TH ST meets HOBBS & SHAW with a dash of HARRY POTTER and sprinkled on top with my all time favorite Christmas movie, ITS A WONDERFUL LIFE… let all that sink in,” he said.
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Based on an original story by Hiram Garcia, directed by Jake Kasdan and written by Chris Morgan, Red One features Kiernan Shipka (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Lucy Liu (Kill Bill), Mary Elizabeth Ellis (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Nick Kroll (Don’t Worry Darling), Kristofer Hivju (Game of Thrones), and Wesley Kimmel (The Book of Boba Fett), along with Johnson and Chris Evans. The film stars J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man: No Way Home, Whiplash) as Santa Claus and Bonnie Hunt (Jumanji, Toy Story 4) as Mrs. Claus. Developed by Amazon Prime Studios and Dwayne Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions, the movie aims to reimagine holiday mythology and launch a new franchise. Red One is scheduled for release exclusively on Amazon Prime Video in time for the 2023 holiday season and is planned to be the first installment of a potential series for the streaming service in the coming years.
