Another day, another major new casting for Paul Walter Hauser, whose Hollywood star is definitely on the rise. Deadline reports that Hauser adds the comedy “Balls Up” to his list of upcoming projects, with Mark Wahlberg as his co-star. “Ricky Stanicky” director Peter Farrelly is on board to direct, which should give audiences some indication of what to expect from this one plot-wise.
So what’s the story behind “Balls Up”? Hauser and Wahlberg star as two American marketing execs who become America’s Most Wanted after they get fired for blowing a client sponsorship opportunity and use their free tickets to a soccer match to go on a bender for the ages. So, yeah, this sounds like a raunchy buddy comedy that’s right in the wheelhouse of both actors. And since “Deadpool & Wolverine” scribes Paul Wernick & Rhett Reese co-pen the script, that buddy cop vibe will run deep in “Balls Up.”
Skydance and Amazon MGM Studios co-finance “Balls Up,” making it the fourth collab between the two studios. David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, and Andrew Muscato produce, along with Wenrick and Reese.
Hauser is a very busy actor at the moment as he adds “Balls Up” to a project list that includes New Line’s Chris Farley biopic, Paramount’s “The Naked Gun” reboot, and Marvel’s “Fantastic Four.” The actor will also star opposite Jeremy Allen White in the Bruce Springsteen pic “Deliver Me From Nowhere.” On the more dramatic side of things, Hauser also had “Press Your Luck” on the way, too, about the 1984 game show cheating scandal. Up next for Hauser? Apple’s “The Instigators,” in theaters on August 2 and Apple TV+ on August 9, and “Americana,” co-starring Sydney Sweeney. He also voices Embarrassment in Pixar’s box-office-winning sequel “Inside Out 2.”
Meanwhile, Wahlberg’s recent projects include Apple TV+’s “The Family Plan” and Lionsgate’s “Arthur The King.” Upcoming projects for the actor include Netflix’s “The Union,” streaming on August 15, Mel Gibson’s “Flight Risk” for Lionsgate on October 18, and the Amazon MGM thriller “Play Dirty,” Shane Black’s latest directing effort.
If “Deadpool & Wolverine” hits it big at the box office next month, expect Amazon MGM/Skydance to give “Balls Up” the premier box office treatment next year. And that would mean Paul Walter Hauser will only be more ascendant in Hollywood in the coming years; a future A-lister no one saw coming.