'Imaginary Friends' Brings John Krasinski Back To Comedy Alongside Ryan Reynolds
After The Office ended in 2013, series regular John Krasinski was hellbent on doing something that proved he wasn't just a workplace funny man. He took roles in Michael Bay's military drama 13 Hours, co-starred in the tearjerking indie dramedy The Hollars (which he also directed), took the lead role in Amazon's Jack Ryan series, and wrote, directed and starred in A Quiet Place. Now Krasinski is finally stepping back into the world of comedy, and he'll have some welcome company.
Imaginary Friends is a new fantasy comedy set up at Paramount Pictures that will team up John Krasinski with Deadpool star and all-around smart ass, Ryan Reynolds. You can probably guess what the movie is about based on the title.Variety has word on Imaginary Friends lining up Krasinski and Reynolds to star. Paramount picked up the script in a bidding war, beating out Lionsgate and Sony for the deal. Their enthusiasm was probably bolstered by how successful A Quiet Place was for them.
In addition to starring, Krasinski is also slated to write, direct and produce, expanding his career behind the camera. Krasinski hasn't actually directed a straight-up comedy feature yet. The Hollars comes close since it does have a good amount of laughs in it, thought it's also one of those heartfelt indie family dramas at its core. But Krasinski did direct three episodes of The Office while he was on the show, so he's no stranger to directing comedy. Though this movie sounds like it might have a bit of a darker side.
Imaginary Friends follows a man who can see and talk to people's imaginary friends, though we're not sure whether Krasinski or Reynolds is playing that role. The premise sounds fun, but there's trouble around the corner as some of the imaginary friends who have lost their real buddies start to turn to the dark side. That sounds rather ominous, but this is a fantasy comedy, so we're probably not talking about these imaginary friends murdering people all willy-nilly, right?
As of now, it's not clear when Paramount Pictures plans to sent Imaginary Friends into production. Krasinski will be busy wrapping up A Quiet Place 2, which is slated for release on March 20, 2020. Plus, Reynolds just wrapped up a deal to star in a musical take on A Christmas Carol with Will Ferrell, and he recently made a stop by Marvel Studios, so who knows what that will result in down the road. But we'll let you know when we hear more.