Collider spoke with producer Neal Moritz (“The Green Hornet,” “Fast and the Furious” franchise) recently, and he had some details on two of Ryan Reynolds’ upcoming projects: a graphic novel adaptation called “R.I.P.D.” and the comedy “The Change-Up” with Jason Bateman.
Yes, Reynolds is tackling yet another comic book character, this time from Dark Horse Comics (“Green Lantern” is a D.C. Comics character, “Deadpool” is Marvel, and lest we not forget his ab-tastic turn in “Blade Trinity,” also Marvel). Moritz describes “R.I.P.D.” as, “about two cops, one recently dead and a gunslinger who’s been dead for hundreds of years who work on the Rest in Peace department – which is the police department of the dead. And they basically…it takes place on a normal day and it’s about trying to keep the dead quiet.” The official Dark Horse synopsis for R.I.P.D. is:
Welcome to the Rest In Peace Department — the devoted, yet dead, officers of divine law enforcement “patrolling the deadbeat…reporting to one boss.” Yep — THAT boss. Nick Cruz was murdered by an unknown assailent [sic], at the height of his personal and professional life. Now he’s traded a hundred years of service to the R.I.P.D. in exchange for a shot at finding who killed him. Unfortunately his search will take him to Hell and back — literally!
Ok, so Zombie Cops! Ghost Cops? This sounds interesting, however, Moritz goes on to say that it’s going to be a “Buddy/Action Comedy” and that it will be a PG-13. Huh? Moritz says it’s, “a terrific script by Manfredi & Hay at Universal,” (writers on “Clash of Titans,” hmm, hopefully this is better) and he emphasized that it’s about the relationship between the two afterlife cops, saying, “it’s a fantastic relationship between a cop who’s recently died who would do anything to get back to his wife. And a gunslinger who died hundreds of years ago who has seen it all and is jaded by it all and it’s the two of these guys together.” We’d bet Reynolds will most likely play the cop who’s been recently killed, and while we have yet to see who might play his counterpart, if the film is really about the relationship between these two guys, and it’s a buddy action comedy, the second half of this equation will be crucial in whether or not they can pull off this high-concept project. Definitely intriguing. Moritz is hoping cameras will roll on this in January 2011, saying that it’s Reynolds’ favorite project right now, and will make it happen around his jam-packed schedule.
Shooting in October, before “R.I.P.D.,” is the previously reported buddy comedy also produced by Moritz, called “The Change-Up” starring Reynolds and Jason Bateman who, “basically end up switching bodies,” apparently a “really funny high concept comedy.” Let’s nickname this one “Freaky Friday Face/Off,” though we can’t poke too much fun at it because the project is due to be directed by David Dobkin, who helmed the genius “Wedding Crashers,” and was written by Lucas Moore, of “The Hangover.”
That’s some heavy hitting proven comedy muscle right there. And with the addition of Bateman and Reynolds, that’s a fearsome comedy foursome. It’s nice to see Reynolds returning to comedy where we (okay, I) think he is the strongest. Remember the sitcom Two Guys, A Girl and A Pizza Place? He’s been hilarious in weak material since the beginning (cough cough “Van Wilder”) and it’s really the genre in which his natural talent shines.