Steve Carell, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Louis Gossett Jr. joining John Krasinski’s ‘IF’
The fantasy comedy about imaginary friends stars Ryan Reynolds and has also added Cailey Fleming, Alan Kim and Fiona Shaw.
Steve Carrell in 'Welcome to Marwen'
It’s been years since Steve Carell and John Krasinski were co-stars on the hugely successful sitcom ‘The Office’, and while the pair has teamed up from time to time on other things, they haven’t made a movie together before. Krasinski is looking to change that with new fantasy comedy ‘IF’.
The film, which Krasinski is planning to write, direct, produce and appear in (like he did for both ‘A Quiet Place’ movies), already has Ryan Reynolds in the lead. ‘IF’ – then called ‘Imaginary Friends’ – was first announced back in 2019.
Based on an idea by Krasinski, the story has officially been listed as “a child’s journey to rediscover their imagination”, and reportedly follows a man (Reynolds) who can see and communicate with other peoples’ imaginary friends, who, it turns out, are not so imaginary. He befriends those who have been forgotten or discarded, but some become irretrievably evil, and he must find a way to stop them.
It all sounds like a cross between 1991’s Phoebe Cates comedy ‘Drop Dead Fred’ and the ‘Doctor Dolittle’ concept (though he could talk to animals, not fantasy friends). Will it also manage to make us all cry like Bing Bong in Pixar’s ‘Inside Out’?
And Carell is only one of the new cast members that Krasinski has rounded up to co-star in the movie. There’s also Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the creator and star of comedy series ‘Fleabag’ who also adapted and ran the first season of ‘Killing Eve.’ Fiona Shaw, one of the stars of ‘Killing Eve’, is also joining ‘IF’, along with young ‘Minari’ breakout Alan Kim and veteran actor Louis Gossett Jr., probably best known for movies such as ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’ and ‘Enemy Mine’ in the 1980s.
Ryan Reynolds/YouTube
Finally, young actress Cailey Fleming is part of the cast, having been seen in ‘The Walking Dead’ and as young Rey in ‘Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker’.
Carell, of course, is no stranger to screens – though ‘The Office’ boosted his profile even higher than it already was, he’s since gone on to movies including the ‘Despicable Me’ franchise (with a new entry due this summer), ‘The Big Short’ and ‘Vice’, both for director Adam McKay.
Krasinski has increasingly been working as a director and producer, though he also still stars in the ‘Jack Ryan’ TV series for Amazon and will be heard on cinema screens this year in the animated ‘DC League Of Super-Pets’, playing Superman. He’s also developing a third ‘Quiet Place’ movie, though he won’t direct that one.
Paramount Pictures is making the new movie, and both Krasinski’s Sunday Night and Reynolds’ Maximum Effort production companies have deals there.
The movie is scheduled for release on November 17, 2023.
