James Acaster’s Next Movie Role Gets a First Trailer

This March, stand-up, actor and Off Menu podcaster James Acaster can be seen in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire alongside Dan Aykroyd, Carrie Coon, Stranger Things’ Finn Wolfhard, and Paul Rudd. In the sequel to the Ghostbusters revival, Acaster plays boffin Lars Pinfield, a scientist described by writer-producer Jason Reitman as an “Egon Spengler type”.

One month later in April, Acaster fans will be chuffed to know that the mash king is back on the big screen in Andy Riley and Curtis Vowell’s historical comedy Seize Them!

Seize Them! is a who’s-who of British comedy, with a cast including Derry Girls, Bridgerton and soon-to-be Doctor Who guest star Nicola Coughlan, Sex Education and Living’s Aimee-Lou Wood, Ghosts and Saltburn’s Lolly Adefope, plus a Spaced reunion in the form of UK comedy stars Nick Frost and Jessica Hynes. See the first trailer below.

The film is the story of Queen Dagan (Wood), a Medieval ruler ousted by a peasant revolution led by Coughlan’s “Humble Joan” – a Joan of Arc figure whose motives may not be quite heaven-sent.

Dagan’s companion Shulmay (Adefope) guides her escape and journey in disguise through her former queendom, where they join forces with Nick Frost’s serf Bobik, and cross paths with James Acaster’s foot-in-mouth Felix the Ironmonger, as seen in the trailer above.

Written by Andy Riley, the creator of the cancelled-too-soon Year of the Rabbit, who also co-wrote the brilliant Black Books and gave us sci-fi comedy Hyperdrive, Seize Them! looks like it’ll offer a grown-up take on comedies for younger audiences including Horrible Histories to Maid Marian and Her Merry Men, Aardman’s The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists.

And after years of British actors donning chainmail and wigs to play fantasy Medieval baddies in HBO’s Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon (Seize Them!‘s John Macmillan also played Ser Laenor Valaryon in the latter), it’s good to see some carrying on the Monty Python historical comedy tradition.

(Incidentally, Acaster completists wanting to track his movie career thus far will also need to watch Prime Video’s 2021 version of Cinderella, in which he was drafted in at the last minute to replace US stand-up John Mulaney as the voice of one of a trio of mice, alongside James Corden and Romesh Ranganathan.)

Seize Them! comes out in UK cinemas in April 2024.