In exciting news for fans of gritty action, Vince Vaughn is reuniting with a frequent collaborator for a brand new film. Vaughn’s been busy over the last couple of years, most recently starring in the science-fiction movie Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, which premiered at South by Southwest film festival this year. During the promotion for the film, Vaughn was asked if he was excited about anything that he was working on in the near future; in response, he revealed he’d be reuniting with director S. Craig Zahler for a new movie.
In an interview with Collider‘s Steven Weintraub, Vaughn shared more details, saying: “with Zahler, we’re going to go do The Bookie & the Bruiser, which is a period mafia movie. As much as I love all of his movies, I’m really excited. This is a very fun, very cool movie to be a part of.” It’s been eight years since Zahler’s last film, Dragged Across Concrete, which was met with a divided reception. The movie starred Vaughn and Mel Gibson, with the controversial premise more than likely contributing to why his latest film has been stalled in production.
The Bookie & The Bruiser was reported to be eyeing a 2026 production start date by World of Reel, who also reported that Adrien Brody, who had been attached to the film, is no longer involved and has been replaced by Theo James, who recently starred in The Monkey. Collider also shared story details, reporting that Vaughn plays the titular bruiser in the film, who is “an Italian-American World War II veteran who finds himself adrift in peacetime, and joins forces with a Jewish bookie (Rossi) to go into business together as criminals. However, the two men soon find themselves caught between the Mafia and the Irish mob in a deadly gang war.”
Aside from Dragged Across Concrete, Vaughn also worked with Zahler on his 2017 crime and action film Brawl in Cell Block 99, in which he played a hardened criminal forced to become an enforcer and assassin in prison. Zahler’s films have been known for their grindhouse aesthetic and storytelling structure, unafraid to showcase brutal violence and dark themes. The nihilistic nature of his movies has long set him apart as an unconventional filmmaker, one who’s clearly unafraid to put his uncompromising vision on the big screen.
With the director now working with Vaughn again on The Bookie & The Bruiser, it’ll be exciting to see how much Zahler’s style has evolved over the past eight years. Given the intense premise of this latest movie, fans of his work should expect the same kind of violence and mayhem that he’s become known for, especially since Vaughn will also be involved. Although there’s no release date for the film, the 2026 production start date could indicate it’ll arrive sometime in 2027.