There’s a new director in town. After almost two decades working in front of the cameras, Deadline reports that Chris Pine is following in the footsteps of some of his peers and trying his hand at directing. Hollywood’s best Chris (no, we don’t accept arguments on that) is making his directorial debut with Poolman, a mystery-comedy following an average guy who uncovers a larger-than-life corruption plot that, at best, may put his life in danger.

Pine will kick off his director’s career by directing… well, himself. He will play the lead role in Poolman, while Annette Bening and Danny DeVito are set to play his neighbors and sidekicks. A four-time Academy Award nominee, Bening was recently seen in Captain Marvel and also features in the cast of upcoming murder-mystery Death on the Nile. DeVito had a role in 2019’s Jumanji: The Next Level and continues his long run in FX’s sitcom It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which has been renewed through season eighteen.

Poolman is also set to reunite Pine with a (now) fellow director: Patty Jenkins, who directed Pine in both Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman 1984, is on board as a producer of the freshman director’s project. Last but not least, Pine hits the auteur trifecta by sharing a writing credit – he pens the script alongside Ian Gotler, with whom Pine worked in Hell or High Water.

According to Deadline, Poolman is being described as a cross between The Big Lebowski and classic LA noir films, with a hint of La La Land. This sounds like a good combination for a comedy, and suggests that we can expect some nonsensical characters, parodies of Hollywood classic films, and maybe singing? Pine hasn’t shied away from it before, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if song was factored in the story at some capacity.

While we wait for further information on Poolman, we can certainly look forward to seeing Pine in other projects. He is set to star in The Contractor, a thriller with Kiefer Sutherland and Ben Foster. Pine is also attached to the highly anticipated film adaptation of Dungeons & Dragons, which has wrapped filming and premieres in 2023. Also slated for 2023 is an untitled Star Trek sequel with Pine reprising his role as Captain Kirk, but details are still fuzzy on that project.

Poolman has yet to set a release date. Check out the film’s official synopsis below:

Darren Barrenman is a hapless dreamer and would-be philosopher who spends his days looking after the pool of the Tahitian Tiki apartment block in sunny Los Angeles and crashing city council meetings with his neighbors Jack and Diane (DeVito, Bening). When Barrenman uncovers the greatest water heist in LA history since ‘Chinatown’ he makes uneasy alliances with a beautiful and connected femme fatale while following every lead he can with corrupt city officials, burned out Hollywood types, and mysterious benefactors – all in the name of protecting his precious Los Angeles. Expect some fun cameos and supporting cast to be added.

via Collider