After being left high and dry by Jason Statham just six weeks before filming was to begin, it appears that Columbia Pictures has found the actor’s replacement in the action-comedy film, “The Man from Toronto”—Woody Harrelson.
According to THR, Harrelson has been signed on to co-star opposite Kevin Hart in the upcoming film, “The Man from Toronto,” which is scheduled to begin production in only six weeks. The casting became a big stumbling block after Statham left the film due to his disagreement with producers and the studio over changes to the comedy, including his insistence that it be rated R. So, you replace one balding actor with another, and “The Man from Toronto” finds itself back on track.
The film, directed by “The Hitman’s Bodyguard” helmer Patrick Hughes, finds Harrelson starring as an assassin that finds himself involved in a case of mistaken identity when his enemies target a “nobody” played by Kevin Hart instead of him because of a mixup with an Airbnb. Obviously, if you’ve seen a film with Kevin Hart starring opposite a big, strong guy, you know that the film is going to be filled with hijinks involving the differences in their appearance and skill level. Hilarious.
Harrelson has been a fixture in action films lately, as he starred in last year’s “Zombieland: Double Tap” and just wrapped his time as the upcoming villain Cletus Kasady in the superhero sequel, “Venom 2.”
One of the driving factors with hurrying the casting of Harrelson after the departure of Statham comes from the shooting schedule that was set to begin very soon, with delays not being an option. You see, not only does “The Man from Toronto” begin filming in a matter of weeks, but the release date is actually not that far away, on November 20. So, if Columbia Pictures wanted to hit that release date, there was no wiggle room on the production.