Self Reliance: Jake Johnson to make his feature directorial debut with Andy Samberg, Anna Kendrick, and more along for the ride

Jake Johnson (New Girl, Tag) is getting behind the camera for his feature directorial debut with Self Reliance. This film finds the main character playing a dangerous game for a lofty sum of cash, but at what price? Hulu acquired the U.S. rights to Self Reliance after a competitive bid with MRC and Paramount Global Content. In addition to directing the feature, Johnson also stars alongside Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect, A Simple Favor), Natalie Morales (No Hard Feelings, Dead to Me), Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping), GaTa (Dave), Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek, 12 Monkeys), Mary Holland (Golden Arm, Senior Year), Boban Marjanović, Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future, Nobody) and Wayne Brady (The Wayne Brady Show, Whose Line Is It Anyway?).

Self Reliance revolves around Tommy, a man who is offered a million dollars to participate in a game in which hunters try to kill him. The catch? They can only attack him when he’s alone. Thinking he’s found a loophole, the man attempts to bring his friends and family into the deal. However, problems arise when no one in his party thinks the game is real.

Lonely Island and Walcott Productions produce alongside Johnson, Ali Bell, and Joe Hardesty. Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone executive produce.

Self Reliance premiered at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival in March, with plans to debut the feature as a Hulu Original on September 8, 2023.

Famously known as Nick Miller from the comedy series New Girl, Johnson is an accomplished film and television actor with many notable credits. Johnson plays Randy ‘Chilli’ Cilliano in 2018’s hilarious action comedy Tag and voices Peter B. Parker in Sony and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

Would you agree to play the victim in a game where hunters try to kill you? How long do you think you’d survive? Do you think one million dollars is enough to put your life on the line? Could you convince your friends and family to join you, knowing that being alone could get you killed? Sure, one million dollars is a lot for my broke ass, but still. If the hunters don’t kill me, my wife would if I agreed to such a thing.