In late 2021, the world the first look at a hotly anticipated new Jason Statham-Guy Ritchie movie. It had the silly title of Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre. It had Aubrey Plaza and Hugh Grant and Josh Hartnett and Cary Elwes. It had a great poster. It was supposed to come out the following month, then it was bumped to March. Then it went mysteriously AWOL from the release schedule. Now over a year later, it’s resurfaced as suddenly as it disappeared.
As per The Hollywood Reporter, Operation Fortune will finally hit theaters very soon, on March 3, when it will open opposite Creed III. Statham plays a super spy with the unbelievable name of Orson Fortune. Orson Fortune seeks to take down a dangerous billionaire (Grant) peddling dangerous new weapons technology. To do so, Orson Fortune enlists the baddie’s favorite actor (Hartnett) to help deceive him. Judging from the trailer, action and hilarity appear to ensue.
Why Operation Fortune went missing is a bit complicated. Last year The Evening Standard reported that the film was removed from the release calendar because it featured “Ukrainian baddies,” and after Russia invaded Ukraine it was seen as being in bad taste, at least then. There’s also some business involving its initial distributor, STX, which ended its distributing wing due to restructuring. Its U.S. distribution rights were only recently purchased by Lionsgate, who will release it instead.
Operation Fortune will be Richie and Statham’s fifth film together. The two got their big break with 1998’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. They reunited for Snatch and Revolver, then they didn’t do a movie together again until 2021’s Wrath of Man. Now look at them.
Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre will be released on March 3. You can watch the trailer in the video above.
(Via THR)