Whether you remember the hit 1980s TV series “The Fall Guy” with Lee Majors or not, it almost doesn’t matter. Universal’s version of “The Fall Guy” looks almost nothing like it, and the plot also looks like nothing like the stories in the series. But it’s the spirit of it that really seems to translate: something big, cocky, confident, and charismatic with a sense of playfulness, danger, and romance. This new version from director David Leitch seems to have it all.
In this updated version of “The Fall Guy,” Ryan Gosling plays a movie stuntman fresh off an almost career-ending accident; this working-class hero has to track down a missing movie star, solve a conspiracy, and try to win back the love of his life while still doing his day job. What could possibly go right?
Written by Drew Pearce (“Iron Man 3,” “Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw,” and “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation”), Gosling co-stars next to Emily Blunt, who plays his ex-paramour and the director of the action film he’s currently working on.
The film centers on a movie star who goes missing, and the stuntman hired to bring him back because he’s expendable. Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays the world’s biggest star and the film also co-stars Winston Duke (the “Black Panther” franchise, Hannah Waddingham (“Ted Lasso”), and Stephanie Hsu (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”).
Here’s the official synopsis:
Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling (Barbie, La La Land, Drive) stars as Colt Seavers, a battle-scarred stuntman who, having left the business a year earlier to focus on both his physical and mental health, is drafted back into service when the star of a mega-budget studio movie—being directed by his ex, Jody Moreno, played by Golden Globe winner Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer, A Quiet Place films, Sicario)—goes missing. While the film’s ruthless producer (Emmy winner Hannah Waddingham; Ted Lasso), maneuvers to keep the disappearance of star Tom Ryder (Golden Globe winner Aaron Taylor-Johnson; Bullet Train) a secret from the studio and the media, Colt performs the film’s most outrageous stunts while trying (with limited success) to charm his way back into Jody’s good graces. But as the mystery around the missing star deepens, Colt will find himself ensnared in a sinister, criminal plot that will push him to the edge of a fall more dangerous than any stunt.
The Stuntman becomes the hero this summer. “The Fall Guy” opens in theaters May 3 and it looks like a big, fun action-packed blockbuster that should get the summer filmgoing season started on the right foot. Watch the new Superbowl Big Game spot below.
