Well, it looks like Adam McKay‘s “Average Height, Average Build” is a go, at least in terms of its cast. Deadline reports that McKay has the two leading men he wants for the project lined up, with Robert Pattinson and Robert Downey Jr. now on board. But three others also join the cast list of the director’s upcoming allegorical dramedy: Amy Adams, Forest Whitaker, and “Till” star Danielle Deadwyler.
The news comes shortly after reports that McKay was currently shopping the movie to streamers and studios, with no one picking it up yet. That may have something to do with studios recent penchant for cutting costs (McKay reportedly wants a big budget), but it could also have to do with the film’s subject matter. Pattinson will play a serial killer who gets involved in politics, so he may pass laws that allow him to keep killing; an intriguing premise, but bound to ruffle some feathers.
Deadline has more info on the the plot of “Average Height, Average Build.” The outlet reports that Adams will play a lobbylist who helps Pattinson’s serial killer, while Downey Jr. plays a retired cop who won’t give up trying to bring Pattinson to justice. But Pattinson’s political antics will prove persuasive, as he becomes a “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington” figure adept at shielding his real motivations. The kind of satire could go in a bunch of different directions, and may indeed be the script about “big, dirty money” McKay was working on last year. Or perhaps not. But expect confirmation about that soon.
McKay co-produces with Kevin Messick through his Hyperobjects Industries. Deadline reports that the McKay doesn’t have a set budget for the film yet, which contradicts Puck’s report yesterday that Netflix and others balked at McKay’s asking price. In any case, as stated earlier, no one has jumped on “Average Height, Average Build” yet. But with a cast like that, expect someone will do so very soon.
No one in the announced cast has worked with McKay before except for Adam, who starred in 2018’s “Vice.” But “Average Height, Average Build” adds another intriguing project to each actor’s upcoming projects, like “Nightbitch” for Adams, “Oppenheimer” and the recently announced “Vertigo” remake for Downey Jr., and Bong Joon-ho‘s “Mickey 17” for Pattinson.
