Sometimes, a project gets announced that makes one’s head spin, based on the premise, the talent involved, or all of the above. “Hot Air” is that project this week, as Deadline reports that a limited series about Virgin Airways CEO Richard Branson‘s infamous battle against British Airways in the 1990s is in development from Universal International Studios.
First off, who plays Branson in the upcoming series? None other than Andrew Garfield, fresh off of pulling off the feat of getting both Oscar and Emmy nominations in the same year for his work on “tick tick …BOOM!” and “Under The Banner Of Heaven,” respectively. Garfield as Branson? We can’t see it, but if anyone can rise to this challenge, Garfield will.
Next up, the director of the series: action guy David Leitch, the man behind the camera for “Atomic Blonde,” “Deadpool 2,” and the upcoming “Bullet Train.” If “Hot Air” were the next “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw,” then, sure, Leitch makes sense. But a tale about one conniving, envious airway company trying to sabotage an upstart one doesn’t scream action movie, does it? We’ll let this choice as director sit with you for a bit.
And finally, “Paddington 2” scribe Jon Croker adapts investigative journalist Martyn Gregory‘s book “Dirty Tricks” for the upcoming six-part series. “Paddington 2” is beloved, in no small part to Croker’s talents as a writer, but given the story behind “Hot Air,” viewers cannot expect another tale that celebrates the virtues of manners and decency. That’s because British Airways was not decent toward Branson’s Virgin Airways in any way back in the ’90s. The company used every dirty trick in the book to derail Branson’s success, prompting a high-profile legal battle that Branson handily won.
Still, “Hot Air” tells a bonkers story, and with Garfield, Leitch, and Croker on board, this series could go in any direction. For example, will the show emphasize the irony of how one of the biggest companies in Great Britain, a region that prides itself on politeness and decorum, resorted to underhanded tactics to protect their interests? Will Garfield play Branson as a larger-than-life entrepreneur with insatiable appetites? Will Leitch direct the series like one of his adrenaline-filled actioners? And where does Croker fit into all of this?
Those questions will get answers once “Hot Air” finds a place to land; multiple streaming platforms are interested in this series.