Between Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans, the pair of Hollywood leading men have two People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive covers, billions of dollars made at the global box office, and roles in some of the most consequential film franchises of the 21st century. And while that may be so, the two action stars have yet to appear in a Christmas movie throughout their respective careers. Well, until now, anyway…
In the very near future, Johnson and Evans will team up for a new Christmas action movie called Red One. Although we don’t yet know too much about the specifics of the holiday romp, there’s a surprising amount of information we have early on in the game, including the release date, who we’ll be seeing in the movie, and a few other key details.
What Is The Red One Release Date?
Red One is slated to debut on Amazon Prime Video on November 15, 2024, meaning everyone with an Amazon Prime subscription will be able to watch the highly-anticipated Christmas action comedy throughout the holiday season.
Dwayne Johnson And Chris Evans Lead The Red One Cast
When Red One arrives like an early Christmas present on Prime Video in November, it will bring with it a cast that feels like a big stack of presents beneath the tree. But, unlike your childhood, we won’t get mad if you take a peek. In fact, let’s go through the list of stars who will take part in the fun-filled action comedy.
For starters, Chris Evans revealed in a November 2022 Instagram post that he will be playing a character named Jack O’Malley opposite Dwayne Johnson’s Callum Drift in Red One. Evans, who has oddly enough never appeared in a Christmas movie before, told ComicBook.com in April 2023 that he couldn’t say no to being a part of the cast, saying:
I've been in this industry for too long, but I've never seen a Christmas movie come across my lap. It's never been on my radar. They happen. They're occasional. But it's never been something that's come my way. So the fact that this one popped up, I was like 'I can't say no to this. I just can't.' And Dwayne is just unbelievable. He's such a nice guy. He's incredible at what he does actually, he's so funny. He's really charming and really knows. What [he] knows, he's great at it and does it really, really well. And Jake Kasdan, the director, is just fantastic and the script is really funny. I just was like, I gotta take this opportunity. And it was fantastic. It was one of the best working experiences I ever had.
Other members of the cast, as revealed by Deadline in late 2022, include J.K. Simmons as Santa Claus (his second time playing a version of the character), Bonnie Hunt as Mrs. Claus, as well as Lucy Liu, Kiernan Shipka, Kristofer Hivju, Nick Kroll, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, and Wesley Kimmel in undisclosed roles.
Dwayne Johnson Has Said Red One Is ‘Jumanji’ Meets ‘34th Street’
Though the specifics about Red One and its story have yet to be revealed, Dwayne Johnson gave his millions (and millions) of social media followers a quick tease about the upcoming Christmas movie back in November 2022 with an extremely on-brand Instagram post with a caption reading:
Our movie is a big, fun, action packed and fresh new take on Christmas Lore. … Think JUMANJI meets MIRACLE ON 34TH ST meets HOBBS & SHAW with a dash of HARRY POTTER and sprinkled on top with my all time favorite Christmas movie, IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE… let all that sink in.
That little teaser, which was filled with some of the best Christmas movies of all time, will have to do for now. However, if the action is as epic as the behind-the-scenes photos in the post make it seem, this is going to be one heck of a ride.
Red One Has Been Described A ‘Four-Quadrant Holiday Action Comedy’
Not much about Red One’s premise is known at this time, and no plot details besides the identities of Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans’ characters have been made public, but we do have a brief description of the tone of the upcoming holiday movie. When the project was first announced back in June 2021, Deadline described Red One as a four-quadrant holiday action adventure comedy, which basically sounds like it will be a movie that will appeal to both male and female audiences, as well as those over and under 25 years of age.
Red One Will Feature Krampus And Other Monsters From Christmas Lore
Again, not much has been revealed about the Red One plot at this time, but it looks like Dwayne Johnson’s Callum Drift will be facing off with some scary monsters from Christmas lore, including the dreaded Krampus. In a February 2023 Instagram photo, the wrestler-turned-actor revealed a shot of his character looking up to a massive creature with a torso many would kill for but stopped short of revealing the creature’s face.
In a caption accompanying the on-set photo, Johnson went on to explain that the movie will have “pretty impressive and wild” monsters that he couldn’t wait to share with fans. We guess that single image of Krampus will have to do for now. Who knows, maybe their inclusion will make Red One a Christmas horror movie we look back on fondly.
Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle Director Jake Kasdan Is Helming Red One
Although this will be the first time Johnson has appeared on screen with Chris Evans, the wrestler-turned-actor has quite a history with the filmmaker who has been put in charge of directing the upcoming Christmas action comedy. In January 2022, Variety reported that Jake Kasdan, the son of legendary filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan, was put in the director’s chair, making it the third time he has worked with Johnson.
The younger Kasdan previously directed him in the 2017 sequel/reboot film Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and then again in 2019 with Jumanji: The Next Level, which had worldwide totals of $962 million and $800 million respectively, according to Box Office Mojo. With success at the box office, it’s easy to see why Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions (his production company) decided to bring Kasdan on for another action comedy.
Kasdan isn’t the only person involved with Red One who has worked with Johnson in the past, as the screenplay was written by someone who worked on multiple Fast & Furious movies. In June 2021, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Chris Morgan, who wrote every movie in the high-octane film franchise from 2006’s The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift to Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, was handling the script duties for the upcoming Christmas action comedy. The story on which the Red One screenplay was based was originally pitched by Seven Bucks President of Production Hiram Garcia, according to the outlet.
Production On Red One Wrapped In February 2023
As his WWE person would often say, Dwayne Johnson and company put “boots to asses” and got the ball rolling on Red One back in November 2022, the actor revealed in a November 2022 Instagram post that pictured him standing next to Chris Evans. Roughly three months later, in a February 2023 Instagram post, Johnson revealed that production had wrapped. There’s no telling how long post-production will take, but we should know more in the coming weeks and months.
While we wait for more on Red One (especially when it comes to the movie’s plot and trailer), check out the 2024 movie schedule to figure out what’s coming out next year.
