One of the standout titles heading to the upcoming American Film Market (AFM) is Stuntnuts, an irreverent action-comedy produced by Matthew Vaughn, the filmmaker behind Kick-Ass and the Kingsman franchise. The film pays tribute to the fearless stunt professionals whose extraordinary work brings some of cinema’s most spectacular action sequences to life.
The project will hold its first market screening at AFM, where it will be available for international distribution through 193, the sales label headed by Patrick Wachsberger’s Legendary, Deadline can reveal.
Stuntnuts marks the first feature film to emerge from Vaughn’s film and television partnership with football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, UR MARV, and gives the former Real Madrid and Manchester United forward his first producing credit on a movie. Although Ronaldo has recently stepped away from international football, his ambitions in the entertainment industry continue to gather momentum, with several film and television projects in development.
According to the official synopsis, the story centers on two exceptionally talented stunt performers who accept jobs on a major Hollywood blockbuster in an effort to save their struggling community gym. However, the production soon descends into chaos as increasingly dangerous stunts and the competing egos of its leading stars threaten to derail the entire project.
Those stars are Thor actor Chris Hemsworth and Oscar winner Sam Rockwell, both appearing as exaggerated, tongue-in-cheek versions of themselves. Before long, rescuing the gym becomes the least of the stuntmen’s concerns.
The film is directed by Damien Walters, an acclaimed stunt performer whose work on Skyfall earned him an Actor Award. His extensive credits also include Jurassic World: Dominion, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the Kingsman franchise and 47 Ronin.
The cast features several established names from the world of professional stunt performance, including Bobby Holland Hanton, best known as Hemsworth’s longtime stunt double; Greg Townley, who has doubled for Tom Holland in the Spider-Man films; Paul Lowe, whose credits include the Harry Potter films and Game of Thrones; and Haruka Oshima, who has worked on No Time to Die and The Matrix franchise.
Deadline can also reveal that Oscar-winning actor Matt Damon, known for the Jason Bourne franchise and his portrayal of Odysseus, will make a special cameo appearance in the film, adding another high-profile name to its already impressive lineup.
Deadline first reported on the project several years ago, when colleague Baz Bamigboye visited the set to witness the production’s behind-the-scenes antics firsthand. At the time, Stuntnuts was being developed as the first installment in a planned series of stunt-focused films produced by Vaughn.
In an extraordinary case of life imitating art, the production itself experienced a serious real-world setback when stunt performer Greg Townley suffered a major accident several months before Deadline’s set visit. During filming, Townley fell awkwardly from the top of a water tower, breaking his back in three places. The accident forced production to shut down for several months.
Rather than leaving the incident outside the story, the filmmakers ultimately incorporated the experience into the movie, using it to highlight the physical risks, personal sacrifices and often overlooked challenges faced by the stunt professionals who put their lives on the line to deliver the action audiences see on screen.