There he is again. Glen Powell. You just can’t escape him these days.
Before Powell broke out big three years ago with “Top Gun: Maverick,” he was acting in small-ish roles for the better part of two decades. Prior to ‘Maverick,’ he was known as “that guy” from “Spy Kids 3D.” Did you also know he was very briefly in “The Dark Knight Rises”? Powell played a trader at the Gotham Stock Exchange who has his head smashed by Tom Hardy’s Bane.
Powell, 36, is now everywhere. His success in “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Anyone But You,” “Hitman,” and “Twisters” has opened many doors for him. He also has Edgar Wright’s “The Running Man” coming out next month. All of this begs the question: why in the hell would Powell decide to make “Chad Powers”?
Yes indeed, “Chad Powers” is emerging as a baffling career choice for Powell. I watched the first two episodes last night and don’t plan to continue on. The show, which follows a former quarterback posing as a walk-on for a struggling football team, seems to be Powell’s attempt at “Ted Lasso”–style fame. It hasn’t worked out that way, not in the least.
The series has been trounced by critics. Reviews cite the writing as lazy, the dialogue as cringe, and the tone as muddled and incomplete. We’re still waiting on those Disney+ numbers, but if audience reactions are any indication (59% RT), a second season might not be happening.
What’s truly perplexing is how a rising talent like Powell, whose star has been steadily ascending thanks to smart film choices, would attach himself to a series this braindead. With the momentum he had, he had the luxury of cherry-picking better roles in films. Instead, Powell’s involvement seems like a baffling detour—a rare misstep in a trajectory that has otherwise suggested careful career curation.
It’s not just the projects he’s set to star in, which include J.J. Abrams’ next film and Joseph Kosinski’s “Miami Vice” reboot—it’s also the ones he’s turned down. Powell hasn’t been shy about claiming that he declined offers to lead the ‘Bourne’ and ‘Jurassic Park’ reboots. Hey, the guy can’t star in everything.
By all accounts, these decisions reflect Powell’s thoughtful approach to his career, prioritizing roles that resonate with him personally and professionally. So then, why Chad—freaking—Powers?
Here's a small scoop for Sunday night. Nothing too exciting, since it concerns the once-promising Ben Wheatley, a filmmaker who broke out with the cult-horror gut-punch of "Kill List" and "A Field in England.”