A new, currently untitled comedy produced by Will Ferrell will see Shang-Chi star Awkwafina and Killing Eve’s Sandra Oh play sisters in a story by Hocus Pocus 2 scribe Jen D’Angelo that seems to revolve around the popular game show Jeopardy. Deadline reports that 20th Century Studios have fought off some stiff competition to acquire the rights to the project, and have already tapped Jessica Yu to direct. While the project was originally announced back in October 2020 with Ferrell and Jessica Elbaum signed on as producers, there has been very little word on it since then, and with so many projects falling by the wayside due to the COVID pandemic and the uncertainty around movie releases, it seemed that this could have been another casualty. However, it now appears that this development will now get things moving on the film.
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According to the official synopsis for the movie, the film tells the story of “a brilliant but tightly wound, Jeopardy-obsessed young woman (Awkwafina) who must reunite with her estranged, train-wreck of a sister (Oh) when they’re forced to come up with the money to cover their mother’s gambling debts. The two embark on a wild, cross-country trek in a desperate hope to win enough cash the only way they can think of—by turning our reluctant hero into a bona-fide JEOPARDY champion."
One reason for the project being stalled for so long seems to be the fact that the movie rights had previously been acquired by Netflix last year, but having spent some time sitting on it, the streamer has decided that they no longer want to proceed with it and put it back out to the market. A short, fierce fight saw 20th Century Studios make some hefty early bids and with the rights now sorted, they are eager to prioritize the movie into development.
Now under 20th Century Studios’ control, it should not take too long for more casting and plot details to come from this one, as it seems that unlikely Netflix they are serious about getting this one into production as quickly as possible, most likely eyeing an early release in 2023.
