Jason Momoa’s New Prime Video Movie Subtly Revives 39-Year-Old Action Franchise With A Twist

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Jason Momoa’s latest film on Prime Video, The Wrecking Crew, takes inspiration from a popular action series that began in 1987. Momoa is famous for his roles in Game of Thrones and as Aquaman.

He’s now working with Dave Bautista, known from Guardians of the Galaxy, on a new movie called The Wrecking Crew. The film follows two half-brothers who must team up to uncover the truth about their father’s death.

Jason Momoa and writer Jonathan Tropper recently told ScreenRant’s Liam Crowley that their film, The Wrecking Crew, began as an idea to unofficially bring back the spirit of the Lethal Weapon movies.

Jason Momoa had been developing an idea for a Hawaiian-set action movie for around 20 years, inspired by films like Lethal Weapon and Tango & Cash.

While working together on the Apple TV series See, the actor suggested to Bautista that they collaborate on a lighthearted, contemporary comedy – specifically, a buddy cop movie. Bautista was enthusiastic about the idea and immediately shared it on Twitter.

For about twenty years, I’d been wanting to create a fun, lighthearted movie set in Hawaii. I finally had an idea and, because Dave and I had a great working relationship – he played my brother in a previous film – I pitched it to him. I wanted us to move away from the intense, gritty roles we’d been doing and make a modern buddy cop comedy, something we both enjoyed. We’re big fans of movies like Tango & Cash and Lethal Weapon, and we definitely wanted to pay tribute to those classics. He immediately loved the idea and even tweeted about it!

Jason Momoa’s representative contacted him to ask about a social media post. Momoa hadn’t seen it, as he doesn’t use Twitter (now X).

Despite initial uncertainty, the project quickly gained momentum, and screenwriters began submitting proposals. Eventually, Tropper was selected to write the script. Jason Momoa shared, “He really understands how to capture our voices and personalities.”

My agent called, asking what was going on, and I was completely confused because I didn’t even have a Twitter account. Then I’d get to work and realize everyone was talking about something I had somehow started! Soon, writers were submitting their work hoping to be part of the project. Eventually, Jonathan Tropper won the pitch and became our showrunner, which is funny looking back. He really understands how to write for both me and Dave, and we’re good friends with him. He’s been our main guy ever since, and he’s taken the show to a whole new level.

Tropper previously collaborated with Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista on the show See, where he served as showrunner, executive producer, and writer. They all connected through their shared passion for action films from the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Following the conclusion of See in 2022 and Jason Momoa’s tweet about a potential movie, one of the show’s actors contacted the writer, Tropper, and urged him to get involved.

I don’t remember the exact order of events, but while we were all working on ‘See,’ we realized we all loved those action movies from the late ’80s and early ’90s – things like Shane Black films. We’d been talking about making something like that for a while. After ‘See’ finished, we all went our separate ways. Then, around the time Dave sent that initial tweet, things really started to take off and we got a lot of attention. I think either Dave or Jason called me and suggested I get involved. I told them I wanted to work on it with them, and we decided to team up.

By then, Momoa had envisioned The Wrecking Crew as a story about two Hawaiian brothers who were no longer close, and how they would deal with issues surrounding their father. He and Tropper jokingly referred to it as “Lethal Weapon set in Hawaii.”

As far as the script was concerned, Tropper consulted with both Momoa and Bautista on story ideas.

Jason always envisioned a story about estranged brothers set in Hawaii, focusing on their relationship with their father and the islands themselves. He often described it as a ‘Lethal Weapon’-style buddy cop story, but located in Hawaii. I was responsible for developing the story, working closely with Jason and the other writers.

And so, the story continues! Jason Momoa’s vision of a Hawaiian take on the classic Lethal Weapon is now becoming a reality, with the film premiering on Prime Video on January 28th.

Claes Bang, Temuera Morrison, Jacob Batalon, Frankie Adams, Miyavi, Stephen Root, Morena Baccarin, Maia Kealoha, Lydia Peckham, and Stephen Oyoung join Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista in the cast of The Wrecking Crew.

Ángel Manuel Soto, the director of Blue Beetle, was joined by producers including Jason Momoa, Dave Bautista, Jeffrey Fierson, Matt Reeves, and Lynn Harris.

Critics generally like The Wrecking Crew, giving it an 82% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Lethal Weapon series, including four movies and a three-season TV show, focuses on two police officers with very different personalities who team up to solve crimes.

The movie shares a lot of similarities with The Wrecking Crew. Both feature a cop (played by Momoa) and a Navy SEAL (played by Bautista) who are initially distant and often clash. However, when their father passes away, they’re forced to work together.

Whether or not we’ll ever see Lethal Weapon 5 is still up in the air. In the meantime, fans of the buddy cop series might enjoy The Wrecking Crew, which is inspired by the Lethal Weapon films.

The Wrecking Crew will be released on Prime Video on Wednesday, January 28, 2026.

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2026-01-28 01:52