It feels like only yesterday that we reported that “Zombieland” director Ruben Fleischer had signed on to his follow-up film, the comedy “30 Minutes or Less,” and took a look at the script, and that’s because, well, it was. Anyway, we enjoyed it — it’s an action-comedy very much in the vein of “Pineapple Express,” but with a little more heart to it. It follows two best friends, Will, a pizza delivery guy and Chet, a high-school history teacher, who have a falling out, but are forced back together when a pair of white trash criminals strap a bomb vest to Will and force him to rob a bank.
The first official bit of casting news for the picture has arrived, as The Hollywood Reporter is saying that stand-up comedian and actor Aziz Ansari is in talks to play Chet, the history teacher, marking his first major lead role. Ansari’s star as a comic is rising fast, with a major tour (and a Dave Sitek-produced mixtape) on the way this summer, although he’s probably best known to mainstream audiences as ‘Raaaaaandy’ in Judd Apatow’s “Funny People,” and as one of the lead roles in NBC’s much-improved sitcom “Parks and Recreation,” alongside Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Paul Schneider and Aubrey Plaza.
This means that, as /Film guessed yesterday, that Danny McBride, who’s been associated with the project for some time, won’t be playing the lead, and is likely to play Dwayne, the leader of the would-be criminals, a role that virtually seems written for the “Eastbound and Down” star. We imagine that Will, the other lead, will be taken by someone who, like Ansari, is familiar from supporting roles, but hasn’t yet graduated to leads; the likes of T.J. Miller (“Cloverfield,” “She’s Out of My League”) Nick Kroll (“Get Him To The Greek”) or Donald Glover (“Community”). It’s pretty great that Fleischer, who’s been fielding big offers ever since “Zombieland” became a major sleeper hit, has turned down the likes of “Mission Impossible 4” for a smaller-scale script, and suggests he’s the rare director with the long game in mind, rather than taking the first big paycheck that comes along. Between his presence and that of Ansari (who’s something of an acquired taste as a comic — but we’re fans), this has us pretty excited.