The budget for the new project is estimated to be around $130 million.
Early last year, Universal bought the rights to the new movie by Rawson Marshall Thurber, who had previously directed Dwayne Johnson in the likes of Central Intelligence and Skyscraper.
When Thurber laid out the plot for his new movie,
Red Notice, it was immediately snapped up, with a release date of 13 November 2020 set out.
While the movie was still in production there, Thurber signed up Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds to co-star in the international action thriller, telling the story of an Interpol agent (presumably Johnson) tracking down the world's most wanted art thief (presumably Gadot). Where Reynolds fit into the plot isn't yet clear (Johnson's partner?), but we're sure some snappy dialogue was involved.
However,
Deadline report that Universal failed to meet a specific production point, and Thurber showed the script to Netflix, who immediately took it over, making the estimated $130 million production (without a penny spent on advertising or promotion, so likely closer to $200 million) the biggest feature project on the streaming service to date.
Johnson stated that "I admire the ambition of Netflix to become one of the biggest movie studios in the world. Their original content generates critical acclaim and invites full collaboration on every level of production. Their unbridled enthusiasm for Red Notice is equally matched by their commitment to entertaining audiences on an international scale.
"As the landscape of movies, distribution and audience consumption continues to evolve, our Seven Bucks focus is to continue to find the best platform and partners to thrive in this ever changing environment. Director/writer Rawson Thurber has delivered a dynamic script that me and my co-stars and partners-in-heist, Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds, can't wait to shoot.
"The fun we’re gonna have making Red Notice, but more importantly – the fun the worldwide audience will have watching it in 190+ countries – all at the same moment."
This announcement goes against
the recent news that Netflix may be dialing back on their bigger productions after the $115 million production Triple Frontier was perceived to be a bit of a failure.
On top of this, Netflix are also working with Ryan Reynolds on his next big-budget action-thriller 6 Underground, directed by Michael Bay, which should be released on the streaming service before the end of 2019.
