#John Cena & Lil Rel Howery Keep the Party Going This Summer on Hulu

20th Century Studios has released the first trailer for Vacation Friends. The upcoming comedy is set to stream on Hulu in the U.S., as well as Star and Disney+ internationally, this summer. The cast is led by John Cena (F9, Blockers) and Lil Rel Howery (Get Out, Judas and the Black Messiah). The studio describes it as a “raw and raunchy comedy.” Based on what we’re seeing in the trailer, that appears to be the case.

The Vacation Friends trailer opens with what looks to be a lovely wedding, which is then crashed, quite literally, by a wild couple who clearly weren’t invited to join in on the otherwise calm festivities. We come to find that these wedding crashers met the bride and groom somewhat recently on a vacation in Mexico, where they all cut loose with one another. Hence, they felt like it was perfectly fine to show up at the wedding uninvited. As one might imagine, hijinks and chaos ensue from there.

Along with the returning WWE superstar and fan-favorite comedian as the headliners, The cast also includes Yvonne Orji (Insecure, Night School), Meredith Hagner (Search Party, Palm Springs), Robert Wisdom (The Alienist, Ballers), Andrew Bachelor (The Babysitter, Holidate) and Lynn Whitfield (Greenleaf, Madea’s Family Reunion). Clay Tarver (Silicon Valley) is in the director’s chair. The movie was written by Tom Mullen, Tim Mullen, Clay Tarver, Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley. Todd Garner (Tag, Playing with Fire) and Timothy M. Bourne (Love, Simon, The Hate U Give) serve as producers, with Steve Pink and Sean Robins serving as executive producers.

This will be the first movie from 20th Century Studios to have a global release on Hulu and Disney+, which is a big deal for Disney. The massive merger with Fox back in 2019, which cost Disney more than $70 billion, was largely viewed as a way to boost the studio’s streaming profile. That has certainly worked well up to this point.

Vacation Friends centers on the straight-laced Marcus and Emily (Lil Rel Howery, Yvonne Orji). They befriend the wild and thrill-seeking partiers Ron and Kyla (John Cena, Meredith Hagner) at a resort in Mexico. Living in the moment, the typically level-headed couple cuts loose to enjoy a week of fun and debauchery with their newfound friends. Months after their walk on the wild side, Marcus and Emily are horrified when Ron and Kyla show up uninvited to their wedding. This creates chaos and proves that what happens on vacation, doesn’t always stay on vacation.

It is unclear why Disney ultimately decided on a Hulu streaming release for this one. Given the cast involved, it seems like something that might have had a decent shot in theaters. At least on paper. But in the streaming era, something like this may be better suited for the subscriber base rather than duking it out for box office dollars. A poster for the movie has also been released, which we’ve included for you to check out. Vacation Friends arrives August 27 from 20th Century Studios. Be sure to check out the new trailer for yourself.

Topics: Vacation Friends, Hulu