Universal's shifting priorities in studio spending have created a clear opening for a competitor, and Amazon MGM Studios wasted little time walking through it. The studio has acquired Shots! Shots! Shots!, a Jason Momoa action-comedy that found itself without a home after Universal Pictures opted out.
An original spec from writers Matt Mider and Kevin Burrows, the project first landed at Universal in 2022. Shifting budgetary priorities led to the studio rethinking the project and putting it into turnaround. Amazon MGM moved fast.
Momoa is currently in talks to star in and produce the feature film. He would be joined on the producing side by Jonathan Eirich of Rideback, the banner behind the billion-dollar-grossing live-action Lilo and Stitch remake. Jeff Fierson would also join the producing team, while Mider and Burrows will executive produce alongside Rideback's Ryan Halprin.
Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the project is described as a family-centric adventure with tones of James Cameron's True Lies, Liam Neeson's Taken franchise, and recent Paramount hit The Lost City. That blend of action and accessible comedy is a familiar lane for Momoa, and Amazon clearly knows it works.
Amazon MGM was more than happy to acquire the project, having seen what a successful Momoa action-comedy looks like. His The Wrecking Crew was a massive hit for the company when it debuted earlier this year on streaming. The film is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a critic score of 74 percent and surged to the top of Prime Video's streaming chart. That kind of performance tends to make studio decisions easy.
The acquisition also reflects a broader pattern taking shape at Amazon MGM. With streaming competition intensifying across every major platform, action-comedies with built-in star power have become a reliable content play. Momoa fits that template almost precisely.
The project remains in development and is not expected to be Momoa's next feature. The actor, who recently dropped out of Sony's Helldivers, will next be seen playing antihero Lobo in DC Studios' Supergirl. That film opens June 26. His busy year continues with Legendary's Street Fighter, hitting theaters October 16, and Dune: Part Three, set for release December 18.
With that packed schedule ahead, Shots! Shots! Shots! is not expected to be Momoa's next film, but it remains a high-priority project in active development. For Amazon MGM, the deal is less about urgency than about locking in a franchise-ready star while the relationship is hot.
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