The Big Picture
- Hulu’s comedy-thriller film Self Reliance has been pushed back to November 2023, possibly due to the ongoing strikes.
- The film, directed by Jake Johnson, features an A-list cast including Andy Samberg, Anna Kendrick, and more.
- Johnson, known for his roles in New Girl and the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse films, makes his directorial debut with Self Reliance.
Hulu’s upcoming comedy-thriller Self Reliance will be the directorial debut of Jake Johnson, but fans will have to wait a bit longer to see it with their own eyes. It has been announced that the film’s release window on the streamer has been pushed back two months to November 2023, after previously being slated for a Sept. 8, 2023 release. The film, which had its world premiere this past March at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas, has not been given an exact new release date yet, and it is unclear if the pushback is yet another release casualty of the ongoing SAG/AFTRA and WGA strikes. It wouldn’t be surprising if Hulu, which acquired the film in a deal with MRC and Paramount Global Content Distribution, would want to wait for Self Reliance’s stars to be able to promote the film post-strike, given its A-list cast.
Beyond directing, Johnson stars in Self Reliance as a dull middle-aged man who is invited into a limo by none other than the film’s co-star, Andy Samberg. Upon entering the limo, “Johnson is offered a chance to win a million dollars in a dark web reality TV show, where assassins from all over the world attempt to kill him for 30 days. The catch? He can’t be killed if he’s not entirely alone, leading him to recruit an unlikely team to help him survive,” according to a synopsis of the film from Hulu.
In addition to Johnson and Samberg, Self-Reliance stars Anna Kendrick, Natalie Morales, Emily Hampshire, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Holland, GaTa, Wayne Brady and Boban Marjanović. Self-Reliance is produced by MRC, Walcott Productions, and Samberg’s Lonely Island banner, with Johnson producing the film alongside Joe Hardesty and Ali Bell. Executive producers include Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone for Lonely Island.
Self-Reliance Has an All-Star Cast
While Johnson is taking his turn behind the camera, he is best known for his on-screen chops. His breakout role came in the Fox sitcom New Girl alongside Zooey Deschanel. His most notable role, though, is arguably as the voice of Peter B. Parker in the animated Spiderverse films Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and its sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. He is expected to reprise the voice role in the third film, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, which was recently removed from Sony’s release schedule. He is also known for his work in films such as 21 Jump Street, Jurassic World, and The Mummy.
Samberg rose to fame as a member of NBC’s sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live and is a co-creator of The Lonely Island comedy music troupe. He is also known for his role as the immature but lovable detective Jake Peralta on NBC’s Brooklyn 99 sitcom, for which he received critical acclaim. He also had a voice role in Across the Spider-Verse alongside Johnson.
Kendrick is best known for her role in the Pitch Perfect musical film series, along with her participation in a number of big-budget productions like Into the Woods and End of Watch. She ventured into dramatic roles with a standout performance in the crime thriller A Simple Favor alongside Blake Lively.