Over the last few years, Chris Pratt hasn’t simply taken a few steps up the industry ladder, he’s catapulted to the top of every casting director’s wishlist at breakneck speed. Since his scene-stealing turn in Guardians Of The Galaxy, the days of playing third lead in a questionable Vince Vaughn comedy are long gone. Pratt’s veritable leading man qualities, a heady mix of likeable charm and comedic wit, have made him a go-to guy when you need someone the audience can get behind. And now it seems we can add booze bootlegger to his expanding resume.
Per THR, Pratt is attached to the lead role in Universal’s rum-runner movie The Real McCoy. The studio recently bought Bill Dubuque’s pitch during a battle with Warner and now has Tom NcNulty and Michael DeLuca in line to produce.
In terms of its story, the bootlegging drama is anchored in the real-life antics of former sea captain William “Bill” McCoy, whose adventures smuggling alcohol into the US during Prohibition will form the basis of the movie. His life is believed to have inspired the phrase ‘the real mccoy,’ which suggests pure alcohol that’s not been diluted. The idea of Pratt as a sea-farer with a mission to supply thirsty Americans with boatloads of liquor is sure to be cinematic gold. His razor-sharp comedy reflexes ought to imbue the drama with the occasional spurt of levity, which audiences recently witnessed in the first clip from Jurassic World.
That’s right, in case you had forgotten, Pratt leads the new Jurassic movie into theaters this summer. After that he has a packed slate to keep him busy for the foreseeable future, which includes the lead in comic book adaptation Cowboy Ninja Viking and a gunslingin’ role in MGM’s remake of The Magnificent Seven. That’s not to mention his rumored involvement in the Indiana Jones franchise. Throw The Real McCoy into that mix and we have to ask: is there anything Chris Pratt can’t turn his hand to?