Vince Vaughn Teases When His New Mobster Movie Reunion With S. Craig Zahler Begins Shooting [Exclusive]

4 weeks ago 11

Vince Vaughn as Frog smoking a cigarette in Arkansas

Published Mar 16, 2026, 10:53 AM EDT

Vince Vaughn is set to reunite with writer-director S. Craig Zahler on a new film, The Bookie and the Bruiser. And while it's been beset by delays and casting changes, it looks like cameras are going to roll on the gangster film very soon. Vaughn spoke with Collider's Steve Weintraub at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, where his new science fiction comedy Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice is making its debut.

The film was first announced in 2024, with Vaughn and Adrien Brody in the two title roles. However, Brody eventually left the film, and Theo James has been cast in his stead. Vaughn confirms that the movie will start shooting in early April in Toronto. He also expressed his enthusiasm for the project:

Then, 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.

Vaughn plays the Bruiser of the title; he's 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. It will be Vaughn's third film with Zahler; he previously starred in 2017's Brawl in Cell Block 99 as an imprisoned drug mule, and in 2018's Dragged Across Concrete as a brutal police detective.

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What Is 'Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice' About?

Vince Vaugh, James Marsden, and Eiza Gonzalez in 'Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice.'

Mike (James Marsden) is a gangster with a heart of gold. He's in love with Alice (Eiza González). Alice, unfortunately, is married to Nick (Vaughn), a gangster whose heart is considerably more tarnished. It sounds like a pretty typical love triangle, but there's a complication: there's a second Nick (also Vaughn), who's travelled from the future via a time machine, and he's here to prevent Mike from getting killed. He's got one night to make sure everyone has a happy ending. The film also stars Keith David, Emily Hampshire, Jimmy Tatro, and Stephen Root; it was written and directed by BenDavid Grabinski (Happily). It will premiere on Disney+ and Hulu on March 27.

The Bookie and the Bruiser is in pre-production, and will film this April. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.