Back in 2021, actor/comedian Bob Odenkirk – who is best known for playing the role of con artist turned lawyer Saul Goodman on the TV series on Breaking Bad and its spin-off Better Call Saul – made the unexpected move of playing Hutch Mansell, retired government assassin (who is, of course, pulled back into the dangerous life) in the action thriller Nobody. Doing the unexpected worked out, as Nobody was a success, making $57.5 million at the box office on a budget of $16 million. That was enough to get a sequel greenlit – and Nobody 2, which is scheduled to reach theatres on August 15th, was promoted during the Universal panel at the CinemaCon event today!
The audience was treated to the first trailer for Nobody 2, which finds Hutch taking his family (including Christopher Lloyd) on vacation. The trailer even uses the song Holiday Road from National Lampoon’s Vacation. While there, Hutch’s daughter is getting picked on, Hutch’s son intervenes, which provides him with a black eye for his trouble. Cue Odenkirk unleashing the beast, but it turns out that the resort is run by an infamous crime syndicate and they mark the family for death. There is lots of great action, and it even teases the return of RZA as Harry Mansell, Hutch’s adopted brother, who has a kick-ass sword fight with the villains. Sharone Stone plays a “stone cold villainess” at the head of the crime family. Our own Chris Bumbray said it looks huge and like they put a lot of money into this one, with at least two big hand-to-hand scenes similar to the bus scene from the first movie.
Universal’s CinemaCon panel also gave audiences a tease for Him, a mysterious-looking sports-adjacent feature about selling your soul to become the best in the game: Tyriq Withers and Marlon Wayans star, with Justin Tipping directing and Jordan Peele producing. In Him, Withers plays a college player sidelined by an injury who’s given the opportunity to be coached by Marlon Wayans, who plays a legend. It’s a sports/ horror flick. During the presentation, Marlon joked, “It’s a lot like Rudy.” To which Tyriq added, “It’s nothing like Rudy.” Marlon joked, “Okay, but you do remind me of Radio.“
Universal gave the CinemaCon crowd a first look at the film. Bumbray says Him looks beautifully shot. He adds that it looks like a huge change of pace for Wayans. The film appears to be about Wayans’ character, who sold his soul to be the best, and Tyriq’s character is his successor. Chris says Him looks terrific!
It wouldn’t be a Universal panel without hype for the next chapter of Jon M. Chu’s Wicked For Good. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo took the CinemaCon stage with Marc Platt and Jon M. Chu. This moment is a significant victory lap for the group. They’re happy to have split the Wicked story into two parts. The first was a massive hit, and the Broadway adaptation recently had its best year ever.
Chu screened a Wicked For Good trailer for the crowd, picking up where the first left off. The sequel takes place simultaneously as The Wizard of Oz, but we don’t see Dorothy or the fate of many characters. We see glimpses of the Tin Man, Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion, but from afar.
