Jake Johnson’s feature directorial debut, Self Reliance, is heading to Hulu after debuting at the South by Southwest Film Festival earlier this year.
The streaming service said Thursday that it has acquired the comedic thriller in a deal with MRC, which backed the project, and Paramount Global Content Distribution. The film is set for release as a Hulu Original on Sept. 8 with a cast that includes Johnson, Anna Kendrick, Natalie Morales, Andy Samberg, GaTa, Emily Hampshire, Mary Holland, Boban Marjanović, Christopher Lloyd and Wayne Brady.
Self Reliance centers on Thomas (Johnson) getting invited to compete in a game in which he can win a million dollars by staying alive while others try to kill him. Although he can only be killed while he’s alone, Tommy soon learns that none of his loved ones believe that the situation is real.
Johnson, who directed from his own script, serves as a producer alongside Ali Bell and Joe Hardesty. Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone are executive producers for Lonely Island Classics.
During an interview with THR that was conducted at SXSW in March, Johnson explained that he initially pitched the concept to Netflix in 2017 and saw it as a three-season series. He later rethought the project and realized that the experience of the pandemic helped give it more relevance.
“I wanted to make a movie where each side could be right,” Johnson said at the time. “If you believe the game is real, or you believe the game is not real — it’s a choose-your-own-adventure story.”
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