In August 2021, Dave Bautista expressed semi-serious interest in making a Lethal Weapon adjacent buddy-cop film with fellow actor Jason Momoa. Bautista, best known as Drax in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has recently had roles in movies from directors such as M. Night Shyamalan (Leonard in Knock at the Cabin) to Hayao Miyazaki (Parakeet King in English dub of The Boy and the Heron). Jason Momoa is known for his role as Aquaman in the DC Extended Universe.

Days after this announcement from Bautista, Momoa appeared on The Late Late Show to confirm that the idea was being solidified for pre-production. “We love each other. We met on See, we’re on Dune together, so I said absolutely,” Momoa stated, signaling that the two were both excited about this supposed project.

Last August, two years after Bautista’s original tweet, The Wrap announced that Amazon’s MGM studios would be spearheading the project, now The Wrecking Crew, with Blue Beetle director Ángel Manuel Soto at the helm. Since then, a number of cast announcements have been made for the project. Most notably, Temuera Morrison and Jacob Batalon have been slated as supporting actors.

Temeura Morrison is best known for his work as Jango (Attack of the Clones) and Boba (The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett) Fett respectively. He is set to play the governor of Hawaii in The Wrecking Crew. Jacob Batalon is a familiar face for fans of the MCU, where he plays Spiderman’s close friend and supporter Ned Leeds. Batalon’s character is said to be a wise-guy private investigator closely tied to the protagonists’ plight. Additional castings include Frankie Adams of the T.V. series The Expanse, musician and actor Miyavi (Kong: Skull Island), Stephen Root, a frequent Coen brothers collaborator and Emmy-nominated supporting actor on HBO’s Barry, and Claes Bang (The Northman).

The film is set in Hawaii and follows two half-brothers (Bautista and Momoa) in their investigation into their father’s murder.