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Former MCU Star Jonathan Majors Daily Wire Movie Gets Franchise-Expanding Title

Kang

Jonathan Majors as Kang The Conqueror in Marvel Studios' ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2023 MARVEL.

Jonathan Majors’ first major film project since his departure from the Marvel Cinematic Universe appears to be part of a larger franchise strategy.

The first trailer for the the actor’s action thriller from the Daily Wire revealed the title Run Hide Fight: Infidels, a name that explicitly connects the film to Daily Wire’s 2020 thriller Run Hide Fight. While The Hollywood Reporter describes the upcoming film as a “standalone sequel,” the naming convention suggests that it may also serve as an expansion of an existing intellectual property.

A Politically Charged Premise

The teaser trailer for Run Hide Fight: Infidels immediately generated controversy due to its politically charged subject matter. Opening with footage of real-world terror attacks, news broadcasts, and recent college protests, the trailer slowly transitions to a present-day American college campus.

A college campus under a cloudy sky

The college campus in Run Hide Fight: Infidels – The Daily Wire, YouTube

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After the title appears on screen, the teaser cuts to text reading, “Coming Soon… Or is it already here?”

According to the official synopsis, the film follows the events that unfold after a liberal college campus is overtaken by terrorists. Students who had actively supported the group through political protests are forced to confront the realities of living under its rule.

Consequently, “a ragtag band of red-blooded students, a security guard tired of ‘Uncle Tom’ smears and a Delta Force vet must arm up to save their clueless peers and keep America from surrendering to the enemy on its own soil.”

Any similarities to the 1984 Patrick Swayze film Red Dawn have not gone unnoticed.

Daily Wire’s Franchise Ambitions

The Hollywood Reporter noted that in an interview with Page Six, producer Dallas Sonnier said, “We all worship at the altar of [director] John Milius and Red Dawn. And Eastwood, and all the other wonderful action stars of the ’80s — Stallone and Schwarzenegger. Nobody’s making these types of movies anymore.”

Three men are imprisoned behind a fence

Scene from Red Dawn (1984) – Amazon MGM Studios, YouTube

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The decision to incorporate the Run Hide Fight branding indicates that Daily Wire may be attempting to build a recognizable action franchise around the existing title. The 2020 film was the media company’s first feature acquisition and followed a teenager forced to take action during a school shooting.

Jonathan Majors’ Highest-Profile Role Since Marvel

For Jonathan Majors, the Daily Wire project marks the highest-profile role of his post-Marvel career. The actor was removed from Marvel Studios‘ long-term plans following his 2023 conviction on misdemeanor assault and harassment charges, which resulted in the studio abandoning its planned Avengers: The Kang Dynasty storyline. Since then, Majors has largely remained absent from major studio productions.

Kang Jonathan Majors as Kang The Conqueror in Marvel Studios’ ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA. Photo by Jay Maidment. ©: Disney World is Selling Off Remains of Beloved Demolished Attractions Like MuppetVision, Dinosaur, and Tom Sawyer Island at Auction

The film has already attracted controversy beyond its subject matter. Earlier this year, production made headlines after Majors and co-star JC Kilcoyne fell through a window while filming a stunt sequence. The incident contributed to labor disputes on the production and generated additional scrutiny of the project.

In response to striking union workers, Sonnier told Deadline: “The entire industry is in freefall due to strikes, and now that their members are out of work, they’re trying to sabotage the few people who are still producing. We don’t negotiate with communists.”

More Than a One-Off Release?

Whether Run Hide Fight: Infidels ultimately sparks additional standalone sequels remains to be seen.

However, the title alone suggests that Daily Wire is thinking beyond a one-off, controversy-driven release. By attaching Jonathan Majors’ potential comeback vehicle to an existing brand, Daily Wire appears to be signaling its ambitions to build a broader entertainment franchise outside the traditional Hollywood studio system.

Do you think Daily Wire will make more Run, Hide, Fight films? Sound off in the comments and let us know!

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Trevor Denning’s work has appeared in The Banner, Upstream Reviews, and The Daily Caller, while his fiction is included in several anthologies from independent presses. A graduate of Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Mich., he currently resides in the palm of Michigan’s mitten. Most days you’ll find him at home, working out in his basement gym, cooking, and doting on his cat. You can follow him on X, Criticless, and YouTube at @BookstorThor