Chris Pratt Returns to Amazon for New Movie Set for Theaters

Doug Liman and Jake Gyllenhaal’s Road House reboot from Amazon MGM Studios may be going straight to Prime Video, but the studio has greenlit Timur Bekmambetov and Chris Pratt’s sci-fi action film Mercy for theatrical release. Production is expected to start in the spring. Mercy reunites The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Guardians of the Galaxy star with Bekmambetov for the first time since 2008’s Wanted, and marks Pratt’s return to Amazon, which premiered his Skydance sci-fi movie The Tomorrow War in 2021 and his thriller series The Terminal List in 2022. Deadline first reported the news.

Oscar-nominated Oppenheimer producer Charles Roven — whose credits include Best Picture nominee American Hustle, Uncharted, and DC blockbusters The Dark Knight, Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Wonder Woman, and Suicide Squad — is producing via his Atlas Entertainment banner. Also on board as producer is Majd Nassif (Dead of Night). 

Set in a not-too-distant future where capital crime — and artificial intelligence — has increased, Mercy follows a detective (Pratt) who is forced to prove his innocence after he’s accused of a violent crime he didn’t commit. 

“From the moment Chuck Roven brought us Mercy and we readMarco van Belle’s script, we knew the film was meant for the bigscreen,” Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon MGM Studios, said in a statement. “As ourrelationship with The Terminal List and The Tomorrow War’s ChrisPratt continues to extend across film, we can’t wait to watch him bringthis action-packed story to life, guided by Chuck and the vision ofdirector Timur Bekmambetov. We could not imagine a better star andfilmmaking team to execute on and deliver what is sure to be a grippingthrill ride and look forward to audiences being able to experience it intheaters.”

“I could not be more thrilled to partner with Amazon MGM Studios on the release of Mercy,” Roven added. “I have a longstanding working relationship with bothmotion picture and marketing chiefs Courtenay Valenti and Sue Kroll —whom have institutional knowledge of theatrical and proven track recordsof success at the box office. I am looking forward to reuniting withthem in this new capacity, along with Jen Salke and the rest of theterrific team at Amazon MGM.”

Said Bekmambetov: “Amazon is the ideal partner for telling this crucial story about thefuture challenged by artificial intelligence and for engaging in thisconversation with a wide audience. I’m happy toreunite with Chris Pratt on this project, who, since the release of Wanted, has become one of the highest-grossing actors of our time.Collaborating with Chuck Roven will help us create an epic cinematicexperience.”

News that Amazon MGM Studios will distribute Mercy in theaters comes after Liman criticized the studio for sending the Road House reboot — “a movie so clearly made for the big screen” — to streaming rather than theaters. 

In a statement, Liman said: “When Amazon bought MGM … they announced that they would put abillion dollars into theatrical motion pictures, releasing at least 12 ayear. They touted it as ‘the largest commitment to cinemas by aninternet company.’ I can tell you what they then did to me and my film Road House,which is the opposite of what they promised when they took over MGM. The facts: I signed up to make a theatrical motionpicture for MGM. Amazon bought MGM. Amazon said make a great film and wewill see what happens. I made a great film.”

Liman added that Amazon “has no interest in supporting cinemas” and, instead, are using the Gyllenhaal-led film “to sell plumbing fixtures” by luring Prime Video subscribers to Amazon’s retail-based platform.