Following 2020’s Nobody, Bob Odenkirk will once again be bringing a script by John Wick writer Derek Kolstad to life with Normal – a tale of a small-town sheriff sucked into a vast criminal conspiracy.
Given how popular his performances were in the hit TV show Breaking Bad, fans had long clamoured for Bob Odenkirk to be given bigger and juicier onscreen roles in the wake of that show and its Odenkirk-centric spin-off, Better Caul Saul.
They weren’t the only ones either: Odenkirk himself was spoiling to headline a film project, and perhaps surprisingly, was keen to try his hand at the action genre. The result was 2021’s Nobody, written by John Wick screenwriter Derek Kolstad and featuring Odenkirk as an unlikely lead in a movie full of brawls, bruises and Christopher Lloyd. We really enjoyed it and we weren’t alone either.
While a direct follow-up to Nobody was said to be in the works only a month ago, Deadline has revealed that Odenkirk has signed up to bring a different action script to life, although this one has also sprung forth from the pen of Derek Kolstad. The project is titled Normal and here’s the synopsis:
The story follows Ulysses (Odenkirk), who is thrust into the temporary role of the sheriff for the small sleepy town Normal after the previous one’s untimely death. When the town’s bank is robbed by an out-of-town couple, Ulysses arrives on the scene to find that the town is hiding much more sinister deep-seated secrets under its surface and everyone – from the bartender to the priest – is in on it. And now Ulysses, who’s up-till-now focused only on running away from the demons of his past, must uncover the full extent of this criminal conspiracy.
If all of this wasn’t interesting enough, it seems that Ben Wheatley has signed onto the project as director. This is news that we particularly like, as 2016’s Free Fire (which Wheatley directed) is still a really fun blast of action cinema. Wheatley’s last couple of glossier films such as The Meg 2 and 2020’s Rebecca weren’t without their merits, Wheatley who excels at visceral storytelling, and we’re getting the sense that he’ll be able to exercise that talent on this project.
Odenkirk suffered a heart attack back in 2021, but he seems to have made a full recovery since. And if the actor is signing up for another action movie, we hope that means he’s in rude health. Sales for the film will launch at the upcoming European Film Market so once the film secures financing, we might get an update with a production timeline. We’ll let you know as we hear more.
