‘Self Reliance’: Jake Johnson’s Directorial Debut Sets Sept 8th as Release Date on Hulu!!

Jake Johnson‘s directorial debut, Self Reliance, has found a home at Hulu. The streamer has set a release date of September 8 for the human-hunting comedy thriller. After a well-received debut at SXSW earlier this year, Hulu has acquired Johnson‘s film in a deal with MRC and Paramount Global Content Distribution.

Self Reliance stars Johnson as a man who is offered a million dollars to participate in a game where he is hunted for sport, a la The Most Dangerous Game or Hard Target. The only loophole is that he can only be hunted while he is alone; his only problem, unfortunately, is that none of his friends and family believe him. The film will also star Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect), Natalie Morales (No Hard Feelings), Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), GaTa (Dave), Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek), Mary Holland (Happiest Season), Boban Marjanović (John Wick: Chapter 3), Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future), and Wayne Brady (Whose Line Is It Anyway).

Who Is Jake Johnson?

A native of Chicago, Johnson broke out with his role as bartender/would-be novelist Nick Miller on the Zooey Deschanel sitcom New Girl, which ran from 2011 to 2018. He made high-profile appearances in a number of prominent films, including 21 Jump Street, Jurassic World, The Mummy, and Tag, and has co-written and produced a number of indie comedies, including Digging For Fire, Win It All, and Ride the Eagle. His distinctive voice has made him an in-demand voice actor, with roles in Lost Ollie, Hoops, and High School USA.

Most famously, he provided the voice for schlubby, depressed wall-crawler Peter B. Parker in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, a role he reprised in this summer’s smash hit Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. He also has the distinction of having inspired the comedy series Drunk History, after an incident in which he drunkenly attempted to explain the death of Otis Redding to series creator Derek Waters. He currently stars in the ’70s-set Minx, which will debut its second season on Starz (after being cancelled at HBO Max) this July.

Self Reliance was produced by Lonely Island and Walcott Productions; Ali Bell (I Think You Should Leave), Joe Hardesty (Dead To Me), and Johnson produced the film. Lonely Island comedy troupe members Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone executive produced.