You might look at a film with a cast led by John Cena, Awkwafina, and Simu Liu and say, “What superhero project are these three doing now?”. Well, that’s actually not the case this time. Nope, they’ll actually be starring in Paul Feig’s latest, the cleverly-titled Grand Death Lotto, for Amazon Prime Video.
In what sounds like someone mixing The Purge with Lottery Ticket, the film takes place in the near future when California launches a Grand Lottery to deal with economic hardships. Awkwafina plays a woman who wins the jackpot, but under the new rules, if anyone kills the lottery winner before sundown, they will instead claim the money. Cena plays an amateur jackpot protector attempting to keep Awkwafina alive, while Simu Liu plays a more-experienced rival looking for a big commission.
Pretty dark stuff, but with these stars and Feig aboard there’s bound to be plenty of humor. The script is by Outside the Wire writer Rob Yescombe.
Cena has been crazy busy lately, and will be seen next reprising his role as Jakob Toretto in Fast X. Awkwafina and Liu starred together in Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and will probably reunite when that sequel eventually arrives. She also has The Little Mermaid and Renfield, while Liu will be seen in Barbie, and the rom-com One True Loves which arrives in April. Feig most recently directed The School for Good and Evil for Netflix, but he’s known for hit comedies such as Bridesmaids, The Heat, and A Simple Favor.
Shooting on Grand Death Lotto begins next week.
