Russo Bros’ Cherry With Tom Holland Releases On Streaming in Early 2021
Cherry, the first film to be directed by Anthony and Joe Russo since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, will be released on streaming during the first quarter of 2021. The film stars Tom Holland, Ciara Bravo, and Bill Skarsgård, marking the fourth film that Holland and the Russo Brothers have teamed up for following their joint efforts in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Endgame).
In late August of 2018, the Russo Brothers and their production company AGBO acquired the rights to first-time author Nico Walker’s book that heavily draws on his own personal experiences of the opioid crisis and drug addiction, the Iraq War, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The film follows Holland’s character as an Army medic with PTSD who returns home to his girlfriend, becomes addicted to opioids, and begins robbing banks to sustain the habit. Walker wrote the book while still serving an 11-year sentence for bank robbery and witnessed his story sell for $1 million to the Russo Brothers in a bidding war that saw Warner Bros. and suggested director James Franco walking away empty-handed.
According to Deadline, Apple Original Films acquired the worldwide rights to Cherry and it will be streamed on Apple TV+ sometime in early 2021. The film is one of the few that have recently been acquired by Apple for their original programming list, which includes the likes of Sofia Coppola’s upcoming On the Rocks, Martin Scorsese’s crime-thriller Killers of the Flower Moon, and Antoine Fuqua’s runaway slave film Emancipation starring Will Smith. Cherry, though, will be the first film of its kind for the Russo Brothers’ filmography, steering clear of their usual comedy gold and superhero blockbusters and instead, becoming an Oscar-contending drama for both Apple and the Russos.
Tom Holland has recently taken a more adult turn in the films he selects, stepping away from the Spider-Man costume and going for roles that will help display his acting prowess. Besides Cherry, Holland appeared in 2016’s The Lost City of Z with Charlie Hunnam and Robert Pattinson, and more recently in The Devil All the Time, also alongside Pattinson and Bill Skarsgård. Holland will also appear in the upcoming and much-anticipated Chaos Walking that teams up Daisy Ridley and Holland in a science fiction adventure. But Holland will make his return to a fast-paced action-adventure film, teaming up with Mark Wahlberg in the adaptation of Naughty Dog’s Uncharted video game franchise, which releases in July 2021.
With the COVID-19 pandemic altering film releases, including the recent changes in Marvel’s Phase 4 schedule, and companies moving a lot of releases to streaming platforms, Cherry seems like it’ll be receiving the perfect treatment: being available to the masses, in the safety and comfort of their own home. Not to mention, this is a smaller film when compared to the Russo Brothers' massive superhero blockbusters and seeing it on home screens seems more feasible than it getting the theater treatment. If this film is a directorial success for the Russo duo, their production company might double down on more dramas and thrillers with them directing instead of just executive producing.
Source: Deadline