‘Reacher’ star Alan Ritchson signs on to Amazon Comedy

“Reacher” star Alan Ritchson established a new main role. Grayling The Hollywood Reporter, Ritchson will star in the upcoming holiday-themed family comedy, “The Man with the Bag.” The film will be produced by Amazon Studios, with Adam Shankman on board to direct the upcoming film.

Reacher star Alan Ritchson to star in Amazon comedy The Man With The Bag

Shankman (“Hairspray,” “Disenchanted”) directs the film from a screenplay by Allan Rice (“Stuck in the Middle”). The film is said to be a family comedy heist that follows Santa’s magical bag of presents. With nowhere else to turn, Santa enlists his mischievous list for help and enlists expert thief Vance (Ritchson) to help him track down his magic bag.

Fresh out of prison, Vance wants to keep things straight and try to spend a normal crime-free Christmas with his family. But now he must team up with his daughter and a group of misfit elves to pull off the heist of a lifetime to retrieve Santa’s magic bag to save all of Christmas.

It’s a wrap #Reacher Season 2 💪 pic.twitter.com/77QJNZ2bDO

— Prime Video (@PrimeVideo) February 24, 2023

Based on the premise, it sounds like “The Santa Clause” with Tim Allen mixed with “Ocean’s 11”. Ritchson will also produce the project. Lawrence Grey, Ben Everard, Reg Tigerman and Dan Spilo are also producing the film.

Ritchson previously played the superhero Hank Hall, aka Hawk, on the DC comics series “Titans” for the first three seasons. He later starred in the hit Amazon Prime Video series ‘Reacher’, based on the book series by Lee Child. The show was the first Prime Video original series to reach No. 1 on Nielsen’s weekly streaming rankings and is one of streamers’ most popular original shows. The series was quickly renewed for a second season just three days after its launch.

Due to the success of “Reacher,” Ritchson soon signed a three-film acting deal with the streamer, and “The Man with the Bag” is said to be part of his three-film deal. He teams up with Shankman, a veteran comedy director who has worked on such hits as “The Wedding Planner” and “Bringing Down the House.” His most recent film was the Disney+ original movie “Disenchanted,” which premiered last November.

Ritchson also appears in this summer’s blockbuster and its sequel, “Fast X,” alongside Vin Diesel, Jason Momoa, John Cena, Brie Larson and Michelle Rodriguez. Coincidentally, Shankman previously directed Diesel in the 2005 hit comedy “The Pacifier.”

Diesel too was recently announced that “Fast X – Part 2,” the next installment in the “Fast and Furious” franchise, is due on April 4, 2025. Ritchson seems like a good bet to return for the upcoming sequel. Amazon Prime Video’s “Reacher” Season 2 doesn’t have an official release date yet. However, it is expected to debut later this year. Ritchson announced that filming has wrapped on Season 2 at the beginning of February.