After teaming up for 2018’s Stan & Ollie, a biographical comedy focusing on the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy, John C. Reilly (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Step Brothers, Ralph Breaks the Internet) and Steve Coogan (Despicable Me 4, Philomena, Alan Patridge: Alpha Papa) are reuniting for The Players, an upcoming comedy about competing Shakespearian actors.

The Full Monty’s Peter Cattaneo directs The Players from a script by Jeff Pope (Stan & Ollie, Philomena). The Players is an 1800s period comedy revolving around two thespians, Edwin Forrest and William MacCready. According to Deadline‘s exclusive report, The Players “is set in 1847 New York, where Edwin Forrest (Reilly) holds the undisputed title as the country’s top Shakespearian actor. Playing magnificently to a sold out, raucous crowd every night, Edwin is “The Star”. But when critically celebrated English thespian William MacCready (Coogan) arrives from London to perform his sophisticated Hamlet, Edwin’s title is thrown into jeopardy. Each man wants what the other has, and the rivalry between them starts a hilarious and unforgettable battle of egos.”

Production for The Players is expected to start early next year in Europe, with Ben Pugh, Ben Cavey, Tim Cole, and Josh Horsfield for 42. Executive producers include Pope, Coogan, Protagonist Pictures’ Dave Bishop, George Hamilton, James Pugh, and 42’s Josh Varney.

“The multi-talented Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly have reunited for this wildly funny, bigger than life battle of egos,” Bishop said of The Players. “Their chemistry is undeniable and, with the wit and comedy bursting from every page of Jeff’s script, and Peter’s artful direction behind the camera, this is set up to be a tremendous crowd pleaser.”

You can catch Steve Coogan as Paddy Meyers in Todd Phillips’ divisive Joker: Folie À Deux or as Tom Michel in Peter Cattaneo’s The Penguin Lessons, in which an Englishman experiences a personal and political awakening after he adopts a penguin during a cataclysmic period in Argentine history.

As for John C. Reilly, he stars alongside Elizabeth Banks, Sofia Boutella, Kathryn Newton, and Juliette Lewis in Alex Prager’s upcoming thriller Dreamquil. The film focuses on a woman embarking on a virtual wellness retreat to get her life back on track – but with nightmarish consequences.

Are you excited about Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly getting the band back together for The Players? Let us know in the comments section below.

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