Andy Samberg and Jean Smart will star as co-leads in Craig Gillespie’s next feature, 42.6 Years, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Amazon Studios will produce the movie, from a screenplay by Seth Reiss, which will tell the story of a young man (Samberg) who is cryogenically frozen as a part of an unconventional experiment to save his life. 42.6 years after he’s frozen, he wakes up to find himself alone in a future where he has no one to turn to but his ex-girlfriend (Smart), who is now older than him thanks to the time jump.
The actor starred in NBC’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine as detective Jake Peralta, the male lead character of the show. During eight seasons, Peralta tries to impress his boss, Captain Raymond Holt (Andre Braugher), while falling in love with one of his best friends, Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero). Samberg and Fumero will reunite in the animated project Digman!, a series that will deal with the premise of archeologists being the most famous people on the planet. Paramount and MTV Entertainment will produce the show, which is currently in production without a projected release date.
On the other hand, Smart has found plenty of success during the last few years with HBO Max’s comedy, Hacks. Thanks to her performance as stand-up comedian Deborah Vance, Jean Smart won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series two years in a row. In the show, Vance is on a determined quest to revive her career after the routine she has used for decades is not suitable for younger audiences. The comedian hires Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) to help her come up with new material.
The upcoming third season of Hacks will be available to stream this year on HBO Max, although it currently doesn’t have a release date.
Gillespie, who will be sitting in the director’s chair for 42.6 Years, directed Cruella for Disney a couple of years ago. Starring Emma Stone, the story reimagined the iconic villain by giving her a new backstory, flashy outfits and fresh motivations. Gillespie also helmed I, Tonya, starring Margot Robbie as the famous figure skater, Tonya Harding. The film earned three Academy Award nominations, and Allison Janney won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress thanks to her performance in the movie.
