Action director, Patrick Hughes, known most recently for his hit making action-comedy franchise, The Hitman’s Bodyguard, is slated to begin a new project at Lionsgate, Variety reports.
Hughes’ new project, which he will both write and direct, is titled War Machine and will be a part action, part sci-fi film following the lives of a group of final recruits working their way through an exhaustingly debilitating special ops boot camp. The new recruits will get more than they bargained for when they are forced to reckon with a villainous presence from beyond the perimeters of Earth.
The announcement comes from Lionsgate president of production, Erin Westerman, who said,
“Patrick is simply one of the best action directors working today, but what sets his movies apart is his focus on characters that cut through the mayhem. He came to us with a tremendous original idea and we’re thrilled to be shepherding it with Patrick in the driver’s seat.”
War Machine won’t be the first shared project between Lionsgate and Hughes, as the company and director teamed up before in 2017 and 2021 to bring us The Hitman’s Bodyguard and its sequel, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard respectively.
Both movies have seen major success grossing almost $250 million globally with both debuting at number one with the sequel still performing despite the challenges brought up by the global pandemic. The star-studded cast for the action-comedy films drew the likes of Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, and Salma Hayek.
The first film tells the story of an unlikely friendship struck up by a world class protection agent (Reynolds) who is forced to protect the life of his arch-nemesis, one of the world’s most notable hitmen (Jackson), as they evade the hitman’s hunters during an action packed 24 hours. The sequel brings back the bodyguard and hitman, but this time also tosses the hitman’s wife (Hayek) into the mix for more high action comedy centered around ending a madman’s reign of terror.
Hughes, whose previous credits also include The Expendables 3, is staying busy. He is currently working on The Man From Toronto, a comedy adventure film about a mix up between a notorious hitman and a regular screw-up from New York. Set to come out in August 2022, the film will star Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson.
Although from the blurb above it sounds like War Machine may be a little bit more serious than we have previously seen with Hughes, we can only hope that the writer and director will add his own comedic flair to what is sure to be a space action, alien zappin’, otherworldly hit.