It’s undeniable that Glen Powell’s star is on the rise in Hollywood, thanks to his standout performances in “Top Gun: Maverick” and Richard Linklater’s intriguing romantic crime pic “Hit Man.” Powell’s indisputable talent and innate charisma have not gone unnoticed, and director J.J. Abrams (known for his work on “Star Trek” and “Star Wars”) is reportedly considering him for his next feature film. This prospect will surely excite folks who have been following his current run of films.
Abrams hasn’t made a major theatrical release since 2019’s “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” but we’ll have to wait for further details on the mysterious project. The filmmaker has been chiefly focused on franchise work, tackling things like “Mission: Impossible III,” a reboot of “Star Trek” starting in 2009, and his two “Star Wars” installments.
While Abrams has been a solid blockbuster filmmaker, he’s also been able to etch out his genre projects with his production company Bad Robot on things like his period creature feature “Super 8,” the WWII horror film “Overlord,” and the trilogy of films set within the “Cloverfield” universe that saw Matt Reeves (“The Batman”) helming the first installment. It wouldn’t be surprising if Abrams’ next project takes cues from smaller genre projects, but I’m sure we’ll start getting more details as casting continues.
The next big theatrical release for Powell is Amblin/Universal’s “Twisters,” a new take on the disaster event film “Twister” from director Lee Isaac Chung, and “Hit Man” coming to Netflix next month. Powell was also recently cast in Edgar Wright’s (“Baby Driver”) remake of the Stephen King-authored thriller “The Running Man” at Sony Pictures (Arnold Schwarzenegger in the original role), adding to the actor’s action credits.
Powell is morphing into the industry’s new go-to leading man, and we can’t wait to learn more about this budding Abrams film, which is stuck in the mystery box, in the coming months.