Stay Frosty - What We Know So Far

On May 7, 2021, Warner Bros. won a bidding war for one of the hottest screenplays on the market, paying more than $1 million for the rights to action-thriller "Stay Frosty" (first reported by Deadline). Even better, Warner Bros. already has a high wattage star and a rising new director attached. That should all be exciting news for anyone excited for an original story amid the plethora of big budget superhero films currently scheduled for release.

What's really interesting about "Stay Frosty" is how much of a throwback it is, both in terms of the bidding war and the script itself. These days, deals for the biggest action franchises are usually made with the screenwriter and script already attached, and seven-figure bidding wars over original properties are a holdover from the '90s. As for the "Stay Frosty" script, it feels like the sort of platform that would have attracted Bruce Willis or Sylvester Stallone back in the day.

As much as some things change, others stay the same. Recent series like "John Wick" and "Jack Reacher" have proven that audiences are still hungry for these sorts of popcorn films. If everything plays out well, "Stay Frosty" should join them as the next great action franchise.

Here's everything we know so far about "Stay Frosty."

Warner Bros. just bought the screenplay today, so it's still much too early for the studio to announce when it will hit theaters. When it comes to a typical movie production timeline, the purchase of the script is usually one of the earliest steps in the process. The premiere date probably won't be announced during 2021. In fact, it's likely that much or all of the publicly available information about "Stay Frosty" will change by then. So, everything here is very much subject to change.

At this point, we can only make a very rough estimate. The average length of time between a major studio's movie announcement and when that movie debuts in theaters is about 900 days, or about two and a half years (via No Film School). But every movie is different, and if 2020 taught us anything, life is unpredictable. We'll have a better idea of the timeline once Warner Bros. announces the start of pre-production.

So far, the only member of "Stay Frosty's" cast who's been announced is none other than Idris Elba. He'll be the star, but Warner Bros. hasn't announced any details about the character he'll play. Of course, Idris Elba has plenty of experience with action movies. He's a fixture in both the Marvel ("Avengers: Infinity War") and DC ("The Suicide Squad") universes, as well as blockbusters like "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw." So "Stay Frosty" should be in good hands.

Otherwise, it's still too early to say which other actors will appear in the cast, or even which other characters will show up in the movie. At this point, someone's going to play Elba's son, and someone's going to play the villain. Again, these things take years.

The other major talent attached right now is director Sam Hargrave. He broke into show business as Chris Evans' stunt double in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier." He was promoted to stunt and fight coordinator for "Captain America: Civil War," and for "Avengers: Infinity War," he served as both coordinator and second unit director. "Stay Frosty" will be his second feature-length directing gig, following the 2020 Chris Evans thriller "Extraction."

According to the logline, "Stay Frosty" is a revenge flick with a bonkers premise. Elba plays a man who survives a gunshot to the head and has to figure out who wants to assassinate him, why it happened, and how he can figure this out in time to celebrate Christmas with his son. The holiday angle in particular had "Deadline" already comparing "Stay Frosty" to other '80s action movies like "Die Hard" and "Lethal Weapon." If "Stay Frosty" even comes close to those classics, that would be a win for all involved.

Should "Stay Frosty" prove to be a hit, it could spawn its own franchise to rival "John Wick" and "Jack Reacher." That's great news for action fans, because they've been waiting for Idris Elba to front his own action movie franchise for years. Although we don't know if MGM will decide to cast him as the next James Bond, "Stay Frosty" should be a pretty good consolation prize.