Action-comedy The Man from Toronto starring Woody Harrelson and Kevin Hart has been picked up by Netflix. The worldwide rights to the movie, which was initially due to star Jason Statham in the Woody Harrelson role, were acquired by the streaming giant from Sony Pictures, with the intention of releasing The Man from Toronto onto the platform later this year.

Confirmed by Deadline, The Man from Toronto was originally scheduled for a theatrical release on August 12, 2022 by Sony Pictures Releasing. With Netflix now in charge, it is unknown when audiences will get to see Woody Harrelson and Kevin Hart exchange banter in The Man from Toronto. Sony still owns the rights to the movie in China and “home entertainment and linear TV windows.”

The Man from Toronto follows Woody Harrelson and Kevin Hart as the world’s deadliest assassin and New York’s biggest screw-up, Teddy, respectively. The fun begins when the latter is thought to be the former, and vice versa, while staying at an Airbnb rental. Thanks to this zany misunderstanding, the two men are forced to join forces in order to help save the day. And all without killing one another.

Directed by Patrick Hughes of The Expendables 3, The Hitman's Bodyguard, and The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard fame, and written by Robbie Fox from a story by Fox and Jason Blumenthal, The Man from Toronto also stars Kaley Cuoco, Jasmine Mathews, Ellen Barkin, Lela Loren, Pierson Fode, Jencarlos Canela, Tomohisa Yamashita and Alejandro De Hoyos. Escape Artists, who were behind both The Equalizer franchise and the Kevin Hart and Bryan Cranston comedy-drama The Upside are also on board. Oscar nominee Todd Black, Blumenthal, and Oscar winner Steve Tisch are producing with Bill Bannerman executive producing.

The Man from Toronto’s move from a more traditional theatrical release through Sony Pictures to a streaming release via Netflix comes as a result of the deal signed by the two studios last year. The agreement allows Netflix to first dibs on Sony’s direct-to-streaming movies. The Man from Toronto’s release change was also no doubt helped by Netflix’s ongoing relationship with comic actor Kevin Hart.

The Man from Toronto Was Originally Planned as a Jason Statham Vehicle

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Warner Bros. Pictures/China Media Capital

The move over to Netflix is just one of several major changes made during the production of The Man from Toronto. The action movie had originally been planned as a vehicle for action superstar Jason Statham, who would of course have played the master assassin opposite Kevin Hart’s no doubt screeching everyman. Though Jason Statham's exact reasons for withdrawing from the project remain unclear, it has been alleged that there were creative differences between Statham and Sony Pictures. Notably, it's alleged that Sony was looking to make the movie PG-13, whilst Statham wanted The Man from Toronto to be R-rated.

So, instead of seeing Statham ply his trade, we will instead be treated to Woody Harrelson as the expert killer. A recasting which, while different, could prove to be just as good. The Man from Toronto will land on Netflix later this year.