Ryan Reynolds, who probably could’ve starred in Cocaine Bear given his refusal to ever slow down, has set up a new comedy at Paramount titled Boy Band that he will star in and produce.
Reynolds came up with the story and co-wrote the script with Jesse Andrews, whose feature credits include Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and Pixar’s animated film Luca.
Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the film is said to center around a boy band reunion. That premise has served the Peacock series Girls5Eva quite well, though that show obviously revolves around a group of women.
Reynolds will produce the film via his company Maximum Effort, which is based at Paramount, and he’ll be joined by a familiar face — Shawn Levy of 21 Laps Entertainment. Levy directed Reynolds in Free Guy and The Adam Project, and they’re currently preparing to shoot Deadpool 3 in London this spring, so it makes sense that Boy Band will be developed as a possible directing vehicle for Levy as well.
Of course, it’ll all comes down to Levy’s schedule, as directors can’t bounce from project to project with the same speed that actors can. Reynolds hopes to shoot Boy Band this fall, or perhaps early this year, so if the project does get off the ground by then, it’s extremely unlikely that Levy would direct, given Deadpool 3‘s release date of Nov. 8, 2024. Of course, if Boy Band takes a while to come together, or another project catches Reynolds’ eye in the interim, it could always be delayed, allowing Levy the opportunity to direct — though the idea feels a bit modest for him at this point in his career.
Reynolds showed off his singing voice in last year’s musical comedy Spirited, which paired the actor with Will Ferrell. It’ll be fun to see who Reynolds casts as his fellow boy band members, unless, of course, he’s playing the band’s manager or an A&R executive or some kind of role like that. He’s represented by WME, and the Hollywood Reporter broke the news about Boy Band.
