Kevin Hart is set to star in and produce a twist on the superhero genre called “Night Wolf” at STXfilms, the studio’s chairman of the motion picture group Adam Fogelson announced Thursday.
STXfilms acquired the pitch for “Night Wolf” from “Pokemon Detective Pikachu” screenwriters Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit, who are developing the film as a cross between the superhero genre and “Meet the Parents.” In the film, Hart will play a man meeting his future father-in-law for the first time, only to discover his alter-ego is a superhero known as the Night Wolf.
Hart’s HartBeat Productions is also attached to produce “Night Wolf,” which is the third film of a previously announced deal that involved just two comedy projects. Hart is eyeing to star in both of those films, which include “Black Friday” and another untitled romantic comedy.
The HartBeat team will oversee production of “Night Wolf” with STXfilms’ SVP of production Drew Simon.
“After we acquired ‘Night Wolf,’ we submitted it to Kevin Hart and the team at HartBeat hoping they would love it as much as we did. It is a big, broad comedy and the idea is great fun and perfectly matched with Kevin’s comedic talent. We are thrilled to be working on what will now be our fourth film together,” Fogelson said in a statement.
Earlier this year Hart starred in STXfilms’ “The Upside” opposite Bryan Cranston, which crossed $100 million at the box office domestically.
“I am excited to be working with our friends at STX again. They brought us a great project with ‘Night Wolf.’ I instantly fell in love with this pitch about an everyday guy who is meeting his in-laws for the first time and unwittingly discovers his dad to be is secretly a superhero,” Hart said in a statement.
Hart will next be seen in “Jumanji: The Next Level,” arriving this December. He is represented by 3 Arts, UTA and Schreck Rose Dapello & Adams.
Hernandez and Samit’s “Pokemon Detective Pikachu” made $144 million at the domestic box office this year. They are represented by Oly Obst at 3 Arts Entertainment and Karl Austen and Michael Auerbach at Jackoway Austen Tyerman Werthheimer Mandlebaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein.