The Oscar nominee Dev Patel, popularly known for his appearances in Life of Pi and Slumdog Millionaire, recently made his directorial debut with Monkey Man. Set to release on 5 April 2024, the movie narrates the story of a young man who embarks on a quest for vengeance through the underworld of Mumbai, following traumatic events in his childhood.
Right after the release of its first trailer, The Hollywood Reporter noted that Monkey Man was originally set to have a streaming release on Netflix. However, Deadline reported that Jordan Peele acquired the distribution rights to Dev Patel’s movie and thus scooped up the rights from the streamer in an attempt to offer the film a theatrical release.
Dev Patel’s Monkey Man Originally Planned for a Netflix Release
Ever since his inception in the entertainment industry, Dev Patel has expressed his penchant for critically acclaimed projects over commercial blockbusters. Often appearing in highly appreciated projects like Life of Pi and Slumdog Millionaire, the actor even bagged an Oscars nomination in his budding career.
Now, after years of serving as a prolific actor in the industry, Dev Patel tried his luck in direction. Thus, coming up with his directorial debut, Patel made a John Wick-styled thriller Monkey Man. Ensembling a stellar cast including Sharlto Copley, Pitobash, Sobhita Dhulipala, and more, the Oscar nominee planned to release his film on April 5.
Narrating the tale of a young man who ventures on a bloody quest for vengeance across the Mumbai underworld, after facing traumatic events during his childhood, Dev Patel originally planned for Monkey Man to have a Netflix release in 2021, as per THR. However, on a more recent note, sources revealed that Patel’s film is now looking forward to having a theatrical release.
Jordan Peele Snatched Dev Patel’s Monkey Man from Netflix
Following the reports of Dev Patel’s Monkey Man getting a Netflix release, actor and filmmaker Jordan Peele made a risky gamble to acquire the rights to that project. According to Deadline reports, Patel’s film was poached by Peele for a big-screen release, after watching the trailer. It was also reported that Peele scooped up the rights from Netflix, following his partnership with Universal Pictures.
According to Screen Rant, after watching Monkey Man and feeling “it deserved a theatrical release”, Jordan Peele expressed his fair amount of confidence in the film and its potential to bag staggering box office numbers. His gamble is quite understandable because there are a variety of John Wick-like action movies that have performed phenomenally well at the box office.
Meanwhile, people have expressed their fair share of doubts, since big studios are rarely known for acquiring a movie originally intended for a streaming release. Considering it an interesting shift from the typical process, netizens are hoping to see how the risky gamble turns out for Jordan Peele. Although Dev Patel’s movie might face competition at the box office from other action flicks, Peele and Universal’s play might work out in their favor.
