Per Deadline, Amazon Studios have acquired the upcoming action-comedy Shelly, which will reunite Jumanji: The Next Level co-stars Awkwafina and Karen Gillan. Jude Weng is directing from a script penned by Michael Doneger and Liz Storm.
The film was talked about back in June when it was first being shopped. Awkwafina will star as the title character, a young woman who was left so embarrassed by a high school prom prank a decade earlier that she grew up to become a ruthless assassin. When Shelly learns that her latest target is her former high school bully Dianna, she’s thrilled to carry out the contract.
The film has been described as a mix between Barry and Mean Girls, and seeks to combine high school nostalgia with action and laughs.
Awkwafina is coming off a breakout acting performance in The Farewell, and will next be seen in Tate Taylor‘s crime drama Breaking News In Yuba County.
She’ll also co-star in Marvel’s Shang-Chi movie, lead the gambling film The Baccarat Machine, as well as voice one of the leads in Disney’s Raya And The Last Dragon.
Gillan was last seen in The Call Of The Wild, and she seems to have a thing for female-led assassin movies, as she’ll soon be seen in another one, Gunpowder Milkshake. She’ll also reprise her MCU role as Nebula in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 and the Disney+ Marvel series What If…?
Weng recently wrapped the Netflix film Finding Ohana, and has directed episodes of shows like The Good Place, Black-ish, Young Sheldon, and Fresh Off The Boat throughout her career.
Ian Bryce is producing the film, and his other producing credits include Transformers, Spider-Man and World War Z.
Amazon’s strategy remains unclear – it was only recently that they were reportedly shifting to only developing high-budget films and TV, which Shelly is not – but an action-comedy with Gillan and Awkwafina should be a bunch of fun, so no complaints here.
#Peace.Love.Shelly
