Kevin Hart is heading back to action comedy territory, this time for Netflix, with a project that pairs him opposite a rival spy in a premise built around one of the more unlikely settings imaginable for an espionage thriller. The untitled film, which is currently in development, will be directed by McG, the filmmaker who launched his feature career more than 25 years ago with Charlie’s Angels and has maintained a steady presence in the action and comedy space ever since.
The story centers on two competing spies who cross paths not on a mission or in a danger zone but in a Lamaze class, after their wives become close friends. Forced into each other’s orbits by their partners’ new bond and by the imminent arrival of their children, the two operatives have to figure out how to coexist personally while remaining professionally at odds. The identity of the actor who will play Hart’s rival spy has not yet been announced.
The creative team assembled behind the camera
The producing lineup attached to the project is what gives it additional weight beyond its premise. Shawn Levy’s production company 21 Laps is involved, bringing with it the infrastructure behind some of Netflix’s most commercially successful originals including Stranger Things. Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort is also producing, continuing a working relationship between Levy and Reynolds that has produced a string of hits including Free Guy, The Adam Project and Deadpool and Wolverine.
For this project, both Levy and Reynolds are operating strictly as producers rather than stepping into their more familiar director and actor roles. Hart is producing through his own label Hartbeat, alongside collaborators Luke Kelly-Clyne and Bryan Smiley.
The screenplay comes from Adam and Aaron Nee, the writing duo behind The Lost City, working alongside Jonathan Tropper. Tropper has a prior connection to this producing circle, having written This Is Where I Leave You and contributed to The Adam Project, making him a natural fit for the collaboration. The script is adapted from a short story by Sean Lewis.
A project that fits naturally into Hart’s Netflix relationship
The new spy comedy is the latest development in what has become a substantial ongoing relationship between Hart and Netflix. His upcoming slate on the platform already includes The Roast of Kevin Hart, set to debut on May 10, and the comedy 72 Hours, which arrives on July 24. Adding a third title to that pipeline reinforces how central Netflix has become to his career strategy at this stage.
McG’s connection to the streaming platform runs parallel. His most recent directorial projects have also landed on Netflix, making this collaboration a natural continuation of ties that both the director and the star have been building there independently.
What makes this one worth paying attention to
On paper, the combination of Hart’s proven ability to carry action comedies, a directing sensibility shaped by the genre’s bigger swings and a producing team with a track record of delivering crowd-pleasing films at scale adds up to something with genuine commercial potential.
The Lamaze class setup, two spies forced to be polite to each other because their wives are friends, has the kind of high-concept simplicity that tends to work well in the genre. It is specific enough to be memorable and flexible enough to sustain a full feature. With the writing team behind The Lost City handling the script, the comedic infrastructure is in capable hands.
Casting the rival spy will be the next significant development to watch. Whoever steps into that role will define the chemistry at the center of the film, and given the producing firepower already attached, the options are likely to be interesting.
