Guns Up: Kevin James to lead a mobster action comedy from director Edward Drake

Kevin James is playing the lead in the Edward Drake-director action comedy Guns Up, about an ex-cop running from the mob.

Kevin James is going from Paul Blart: Mall Cop to ex-cop for Edward Drake’s upcoming action comedy Guns Up. According to The Hollywood Reporter, James plays an ex-cop and family man who moonlights as a mob henchman in the new project. When the job he’s working goes wrong, both of his worlds collide. He’ll need to get his family out of the city with time running out before his dalliance with lawlessness catches up.

With Millennium Media handling world sales, Guns Up will go to the Cannes market to get the word out about Drake’s latest directorial effort. Drake directs from a script he wrote. In addition to helming episodes of HBO’s True Detective, Drake shot the Detective Knight trilogy (Detective Knight: Rogue, Detective Knight: Redemption, Detective Knight: Independence), Apex, Gasoline Alley, Cosmic Sin, and more. Drake, Tobias Weymar, and Jon Keeyes produce Guns Up, with BondIt Media Capital’s Matthew Helderman and Luke Taylor executive producing.

“We couldn’t be more excited to team up with Ed on this film which stars the incredibly talented Kevin James doing what he does best — delivering action-packed thrills and hilarious one-liners,” said Millennium VP of international sales and distribution JJ Nugent. “When I first read the script, I couldn’t help but draw similarities to our Hitman’s Bodyguard franchise as it has a seamless blend of action and comedy, coupled with an unexpected family dynamic that’s full of surprises.”

While James has portrayed many goofy characters, his performance in 2012’s Here Comes the Boom and 2020’s Becky could surprise you. He rarely gets an opportunity to strut his dramatic chops, but it’s impressive when he does. An action comedy could be the perfect vehicle for him to break free from the Paul Blart stigma that’s followed him for most of his career.

I enjoyed interviewing Kevin James in New York City for 2015’s Pixels. He struck me as a kind and enthusiastic actor who’s down for anything as long as it brings people joy. We’ll keep our eyes on Guns Up and hope it looks as entertaining as some of Millennium Media’s other action thrill rides.