Heads of State: Nobody director to helm John Cena, Idris Elba action comedy for Amazon Studios

Ilya Naishbuller certainly isn’t a nobody, but the director of the Bob Odenkirk action-thriller has set up his next project with Amazon Studios. Naishbuller is set to helm Heads of State, an action-comedy that will star John Cena and Idris Elba.

Plot details are being kept under wraps, but Heads of State is being described as “Air Force One meets Midnight Run” and will find John Cena and Idris Elba playing a “mismatched pair who are in over their heads in a high-stakes situation.” Aren’t they always? Harrison Query (My Wife and I Bought a Ranch) wrote the initial script, with Josh Appelbaum & André Nemec (Beverly Hills Cop 4) penning the most recent draft. Ilya Naishbuller has proven that he’s got the action touch with Nobody, as well as his debut feature Hardcore Henry, so I’m excited to see what sort of madness he comes up with for John Cena and Idris Elba in Heads of State.

As for Nobody, a sequel to the action-thriller is already in the works. The first film found Bob Odenkirk starring as Hutch Mansell, “an unassuming family man who cowers and folds during a home invasion. His post-traumatic shame disorder reignites a long-cooled fire within, and he summons a secret lethal skill set for a revenge mission, only to see it backfire spectacularly and put his family in greater jeopardy.” David Leitch, who produced Nobody, said earlier this summer that everyone is excited to return for more. “Everyone involved is like, ‘Full steam ahead,’” Leitch said. “We are in the script process, and I think we had so much fun making that. Kelly and I had a blast, the actors had a blast, the studio loved the results, and it’s happening. I mean, I think it’s happening as fast as we can make it happen.“