Travis Kelce may have found his leading man role. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end is in talks to lead the action-comedy “Loose Cannons” at Lionsgate. “John Wick” series director Chad Stahelski is on board to produce through his 87Eleven Entertainment banner, along with Jason Spitz and Alex Young. Tim Dowling is on board to write.
Production is likely a ways from kick-off, as Kelce will be occupied with the coming NFL season that begins in two weeks.
With 12 active seasons in the NFL, Kelce has taken steps into Hollywood over recent years, leading with his popular podcast “New Heights,” which he co-hosts alongside his brother, recently retired Philadelphia Eagles player Jason Kelce. But Travis’ romantic relationship with Taylor Swift has boosted him to New Heights of celebrity in the past year. The athlete will host the game show “Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?” this fall. He also features in a mysterious supporting role of Ryan Murphy’s FX series “Grotesquerie,” slated to debut Sept. 25.
“Loose Cannons” is also the title of a 1990 crime caper starring Gene Hackman and Dan Aykroyd. Directed by Bob Clark, that film followed a cop that teams with a detective with multiple-personality disorder to hunt down a lost-to-history Nazi sex tape, featuring Adolf Hitler. It’s quite a premise, but the film was a box office bomb at the time. That’s neither here nor there, as Kelce’s debut feature is not a remake of that Tristar release, despite sharing a title. Instead, this new production centers on two unhinged cops that are paired with one another as an effort to straighten them both out.
Screenwriter Dowling is a comedy genre regular, with credits including “Role Models” and “Office Christmas Party,” as well as Adam Sandler vehicles like “Just Go With It” and “Pixels.” Stahelski has partnered with Lionsgate on all four of his “John Wick” films; he is currently attached to direct a “Highlander” remake for the studio.
