Eddie Murphy to Star in Amazon-MGM Heist Comedy 'The Pickup,' Keke Palmer & Pete Davidson to Co-Star

by Darian Scalamoni

    Following Eddie Murphy's recent starring role in Amazon's latest Christmas film, Candy Cane Lane, he's reuniting with Amazon-MGM for The Pickup, a heist comedy. THR reports that Keke Palmer (Nope) and Pete Davidson (Dumb Money) will star alongside the legendary comedian in the project.

    Though plot details are not known at this time, we do know that Story, who is best known for directing films such as Think Like a Man, Barbershop and the original 2000s Fox adaptations of Fantastic Four, will direct from a script by Matt Mider and Kevin Burrows. Filming for the movie will begin in February as they continue to round out the cast. Story's most recent film, Dashing Through the Snow, debuted on Disney+ in November and starred Ludacris and Lil Rel Howery.

    Murphy's aforementioned Candy Cane Lane has been a fruitful collaboration with Amazon-MGM, as the film is the most watched Amazon-MGM debut since the two companies came together earlier this year, so it makes sense for them to want to stay in the Eddie Murphy business. After many years away from acting, Murphy returned in 2016 with the muted performance in drama, Mr. Church. Since then, he's been on a mission to return to a number of franchises that built his stardom including Coming to America and Beverly Hills Cop. 

    Palmer had a big 2022 starring in Jordan Peele's Nope opposite Daniel Kaluuya, while also leading her own film, Alice. Additionally, Palmer voiced a lead character in Pixar's Lightyear. She's currently in production on Aziz Ansari's Being Mortal and will follow that with filming on this project before focusing on other films such as Moxie and Super Toys alongside Sacha Baron Cohen.

    Pete Davidson made his start on the iconic sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, whose name grew over time, eventually overstaying his welcome and working his way into more scripted film and television. Recently, Davidson has starred in the GameStop stock comedy, Dumb Money. He also voiced Mirage, an Autobot in 2023's Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. He also leads his own autobiographical series on Peacock, Bupkis opposite Joe Pesci and Edie Falco. Davidson will next lead A24's Wizards! with Orlando Bloom, Naomi Scott and Franz Rogowski which is directed by David Michod. He's currently filming Riff Raff with Jennifer Coolidge, Dustin Hoffman and Gabrielle Union in New Jersey.