Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer are combining their forces to play superheroes in ‘Thunder Force’, a new comedy film for Netflix. The screenplay was written by McCarthy’s husband Ben Falcone, who will also direct. Falcone previously directed McCarthy in ‘Tammy’, ‘The Boss’, ‘Life of the Party’, and the upcoming ‘Superintelligence’. He has also appeared onscreen with her in ‘Bridesmaids’, ‘Identity Theif’, ‘The Heat’, ‘The Happytime Murders’, and ‘Can You Ever Forgive Me?’. McCarthy and Falcone will produce ‘Thunder Force’, along with Marc Platt.
The plot is mostly being kept under wraps, but it is reported that McCarthy and Spencer’s characters will gain superpowers.
Spencer executive produced the Academy Award Best Picture winner of 2018, ‘Green Book’. As an actor, Spencer won an Academy Award for ‘The Help’ and has been nominated for ‘Hidden Figures‘ and ‘The Shape of Water’. McCarthy was nominated for last year’s ‘Can You Ever Forgive Me?’.
Netflix previously had a hit superhero franchise with five series based on Marvel Comics characters, but that deal was terminated as Disney prepares to launch its own family-friendly streaming service, Disney+, and assumes 60% ownership of Hulu. But Netflix still owns Millarworld, the comic book publisher founded by Mark Millar (‘Kick-Ass’, ‘Kingsman’), and last month scored a major hit with ‘The Umbrella Academy’, based on a Dark Horse series.
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In addition to expanding its superhero selection, Netflix has been striving to offer original programming that can compete with theatrical movies. 2017’s ‘Bright’ was directed by David Ayer and starred Will Smith. That fantasy cop movie was successful enough to warrant a sequel. Last year, Alfonso Cuarón’s ‘Roma’ was nominated for multiple awards, while the Sandra Bullock thriller ‘Bird Box’ became a viral sensation. Most recently, Netflix offered action movie ‘Triple Frontier’ starring Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund, Pedro Pascal, and Adria Arjona. Arjona also stars in Michael Bay’s upcoming ‘6 Below’, along with Ryan Reynolds.
McCarthy will be back on the big screen in August’s crime drama ‘The Kitchen’, with Tiffany Haddish and Elisabeth Moss. McCarthy and Falcone’s ‘Superintelligence’ will be released in December. Spencer’s upcoming horror movie, ‘Ma’ opens on May 31st. She will also be part of the series ‘Truth Be Told’, created by Nichelle Tramble Spellman, which will be offered on Apple TV+.
Check back for more information regarding ‘Thunder Force’ as it develops.
Source: Deadline
