Jonathan Majors’ meteoric ascent in Hollywood shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. As one of the film industry’s brightest stars, demand for the profoundly skilled actor is bound to increase in the years to come. Despite being only three months into 2023, Majors has already starred in three features, and two of them — Creed III and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania — are part of mega-franchises. Majors’ momentum continues to propel him forward in his Hollywood takeover, and luckily, he already has another project on the horizon. According to Deadline, Majors will star and produce the upcoming feature, Da Understudy.
Da Understudy is a classic tale of life imitating art in a twisted way after an understudy for a Broadway production finds a role worth killing for. Majors’ role in the film has not been disclosed yet, but the star is set to produce the film through his company Tall Street Productions for Westbrook Studios and Amazon Studios.
Majors wasn’t the only name circling the forthcoming feature as sources close to Deadline stated that Spike Lee is being eyed to direct the project. If this comes to fruition, it’ll be a reunion for the talented duo since Majors and Lee last worked together on the war drama, Da 5 Bloods.
Da Understudy’s screenplay comes from scribes Tom Hanada, Zach Strauss, and Tyler Cole. The script is based on an original story by Cole that was developed in-house by Westbrook and acquired by Amazon Studios in a competitive situation. EPs include Lee and Cole. Besides Majors, Will Smith, Westbrook Studios Co-President & Head of Motion Pictures Jon Mone, and Mike Soccio are on board to produce the film.
Jonathan Majors Has Several Projects In The Works
The news of Da Understudy comes after the record-breaking opening weekend of Creed III where Jonathan Majors portrayed the antagonist, Damian Anderson. And as it stands, the Rocky franchise’s ninth installment beat out all the films within the Rocky-Creed universe to claim the record for the franchise’s biggest premiere. Additionally, Creed III secured the record of the largest opening weekend amongst all sports films. The success and recognition that Majors has gotten for Creed III and Quantumania are clear indicators that his breakout year has only just begun. And though Da Understudy is still in its early developmental stages, the lauded actor is already preparing for two additional roles in upcoming features.
Majors will soon head into production for The Man in My Basement. On the project, he serves dual roles as star and executive producer under the banner of Tall Street Productions. The feature is a film adaptation of Walter Mosley’s novel of the same name. The story follows Charles Blakey, an African American man living in Sag Harbor who is extremely down on his luck. On the brink of losing his ancestral home, a white, European businessman offers Charles $50,000 to rent his basement for the summer. Unfortunately, the tantalizing proposition leads him down a terrifying path that takes him to the heart of race, history and the root of all evil.
Majors will also star as Dennis Rodman in Lionsgate’s 48 Hours in Vegas, additionally serving as a producer on the project. According to IMDb, the comedy feature drew inspiration from the crazy story of how NBA star Dennis Rodman went on a madcap adventure in the middle of the 1998 NBA Finals. The film is still in pre-production, but more details will be unveiled in the coming months.