Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans are bringing Christmas early this year.
The movie follows an E.L.F. Task Force Commander partnering with a bounty hunter to save Christmas. Johnson, 52, stars as Callum Drift opposite Evans, 43, as Jack O’Malley.
“After Santa Claus — Code Name: RED ONE — is kidnapped, the North Pole’s Head of Security (Johnson) must team up with the world’s most infamous bounty hunter (Evans) in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas.”
In an Instagram post June 24, Johnson shared artwork for the movie that depicted Simmons as Santa Claus on a missing poster.
“Missing cosmic force of hope and holiday cheer. Last seen in the North Pole. Please provide any information to the E.L.F.,” the photo reads.
The movie was first announced in 2021 with an expected release date of 2023. The following year, it was reported that Evans had joined the cast.
In November 2022, the two revealed on Instagram that they’d officially kicked off production with Johnson sharing a photo of them standing in front of a festive, toy-laden backdrop. “It’s beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAAAS,” he wrote at the time.
In April, the former wrestler spoke with PEOPLE about being named PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive back in 2016 — a title that he shares with costar Evans.
“I pretty much know them all,” he said about his fellow SMA winners. “Most recently, Chris Evans and I did a movie together. At the end of the day, my conversations with fellow SMAs are always the same. I say, ‘Hey man, congratulations. Welcome to the club.’ They say, ‘Oh thanks, Rock, I appreciate it,’ and I say, ‘Listen, just so you know, here’s the thing with Sexiest Man Alive, I’m actually the only one who has it in perpetuity. So you guys have it for a year — but I have it for life.’ ”
Red One is based on an original story from Hiram Garcia, the president of production at Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions, with Jake Kasdan, who previously helmed Johnson’s films Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and its sequel Jumanji: The Next Level, as the director and co-producer.
Chris Morgan, who worked on Hobbs and Shaw and The Fate of the Furious, wrote the script and co-produced. Lucy Lui, Bonnie Hunt, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Nick Kroll and Kiernan Shipka round out the cast.
Red One is in theaters Nov. 15.
