Adding even more star power.
In what seems like the most anticipated film to impact the country music world in quite some time, Glen Powell, the Hollywood star from movies like Top Gun: Maverick and Twisters, is teaming up with director Judd Apatow (the mind behind The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up and The King of Staten Island) to take a stab at a country music comedy film.
Powell and Apatow actually wrote the script for the feature together, and there’s apparently a lot of faith in the idea. Universal Pictures reportedly fast-tracked the original comedy, and they’ve been able to fill out the cast with some big names. Cristin Milioti (The Penguin, How I Met Your Mother) and Madelyn Cline (Outer Banks, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story) are also set to star in the movie. Additionally, comedian Stavros Halkias has also been attached to the film, being set to play the agent of Glen Powell’s character.
And there won’t just be star power on the screen in this upcoming comedy. The country music movie is going to have some star power in the songwriting department as well. Judd Apatow shared with The Wrap that he’s enlisted two of country music’s best songwriters to help out with original songs for the country comedy:
“The songwriting is being led by Lukas Nelson and ERNEST, and we’ve had a lot of fun.”
Back in June, Powell made a surprise appearance at CMA Fest in Nashville, shooting a scene of him doing a “Nashville shoey” in front of a jam-packed crowd in Nissan Stadium. After shooting the scene, Powell would tell the crowd that The Comeback King is for country fans. Additionally, he’d reveal that, along with Nelson and ERNEST, other country stars will also be either involved in the soundtrack or making appearances in the film.
“This movie is for you guys. This is for the fans of country music… I just wanted to say, this movie is with the best songwriters in Nashville. It’s with the best [and] biggest stars in Nashville. It’s for all of you. CMA Fest, this is for the fans.”
Flash forward to July, and HARDY would reveal that he is also set to appear in The Comeback King. Though he couldn’t reveal much about his role, he’d explain that the scene he shot for the film was so funny, he could barely keep it together while filming. He’d go as far as to say it felt like watching Superbad in real time while on set.
“It’s funny, and I will say this. It’s the hardest acting I’ve ever had to do because of how funny it is. The lines that got fed to me and the other person in the scene in real time, and they’re like, ‘Now say this.’ I felt like I was watching ‘Superbad,’ but I was the actor. I was laughing, not because the line was funny, but because I know how funny it’s gonna be when I see it.”
During the same interview, the “TRUCK BED” singer would also confirm that there’s a bunch of other artists set to appear in the film as cameos, and Powell himself just revealed three major names last night during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live: Jelly Roll, Brad Paisley and Miranda Lambert.
With Jelly Roll sitting in as host on the show, the “I Am Not Okay” singer would immediately reveal that he had a small role in the film. In response, Powell would also let it slip that Lambert and Paisley are also in the film, noting how nervous he was to sing in front of the country stars.
“It’s a movie directed by Judd Apatow. Jelly crushes it. It’s the first time I ever sang on screen. It’s in front of Jelly, Miranda Lambert and Brad Paisley. It’s the most terrifying experience of my entire life, but the movie is fantastic. And you crush it.”
Jelly Roll would also offer up some high praise to Powell. Calling it “unbelievable,” he’d tell the audience that he was blown away when the Hollywood star sang for the first time on set.
“The best part was we knew he was gonna sing, so me and Miranda and Brad were kinda leaning back and fumbling through some lyrics because we didn’t know what you had. And this dude started belting, y’all! It’s like he’s been singing his whole life; it was unbelievable.
Lambert, Jelly Roll, HARDY and other country stars will make their acting debuts when The Comeback King hits theaters on February 5, 2027.
Watch their full conversation here:
