Zac Efron To Star Opposite Will Ferrell In New Comedy From Amazon MGM Studios

EXCLUSIVE: Following the recent success of You’re Cordially Invited, Amazon MGM Studios is ramping up pre-production on another Will Ferrell comedy, with sources telling Deadline that Zac Efron is now set to star alongside him. Like You’re Cordially Invited, Nicholas Stoller is directing from his own script.

The new comedy follows a young convict (Efron) fresh out of prison who takes a reality TV courtroom hostage blaming the megalomaniac TV judge (Ferrell) for a past ruling that the convict feels ruined his life.

Producers include Stoller Global Solutions’ Stoller and Gloria Sanchez Productions’ Ferrell, Jessica Elbaum and Alex Brown.

The film reunites Efron with Amazon MGM following his role in Ricky Stanicky, which debuted on Prime Video last year.

Recently, Efron (The Iron Claw, The Greatest Showman) wrapped production on Famous, director Jody Hill’s latest feature film, a provocative Los Angeles-set thriller that explores the dark side of celebrity. In Famous, Efron plays both an overzealous fan, Lance Dunkquist, and a Hollywood heartthrob, James Jansen. The film is based on the novel by bestselling author Blake Crouch and is adapted for the screen by Chad Hodge, who also adapted Crouch’s Wayward Pines trilogy into a series. 

A24 recently secured domestic distribution rights to Famous, reuniting with Efron after last year’s The Iron Claw, which grossed $45 million worldwide and earned Efron some of the best reviews of his career for his emotional turn as wrestler Kevin Von Erich. Efron is represented by WME, Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.

Ferrell stars opposite Reese Witherspoon in Stoller’s You’re Cordially Invited, which is currently the No. 1 movie worldwide on Prime Video.