Emma Stone and Chris Pine Set for Romantic Comedy "The Catch"
By Published Apr 27, 2026, 6:18 PM EDT Matthew Rudoy is one of ScreenRant's Movie & TV News Editors. He covers the latest in movie & TV news, with a focus on major franchises like Star Wars, The Boys, and Game of Thrones, and also writes some features and reviews. He wrote lists for ScreenRant from 2017-2026, became a news writer in 2026, a senior staff writer in 2026, and an editor in 2026. follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap
officially has a new romantic comedy in the works.
Rom-coms are among some of , including La La Land, Easy A, Crazy, Stupid, Love, and Aloha. She won the Oscar for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for La La Land, which won a total of six Academy Awards. In more recent years, she has not been doing as many rom-coms and has instead frequently collaborated with director Yorgos Lanthimos on films such as Poor Things, Kinds of Kindness, and Bugonia.
Now, Stone and Chris Pine have closed deals to star in Universal Pictures' romantic comedy The Catch, which will be released in theaters on May 21, 2027. It is directed by Dave McCary, with the most recent draft of the script written by Jen Statsky (Hacks) and Travis Helwig, while the original spec script was written by Patrick Kang and Michael Levin. No plot details have been officially revealed yet, but The Catch was reportedly among several movies that Stone was considering, and she chose this one after the new draft of the script caught her attention.
The Catch is Stone's first feature film since Bugonia, her latest collaboration with Lanthimos. She received an Academy Award nomination for her performance, making her the second-youngest person and the youngest woman to earn seven Oscar nominations. Meryl Streep previously held the record when she had her seventh nomination at 38 years old in 1988. The youngest person to ever set the record was Walt Disney at 34 years old.
Jessie Buckley won the Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role this year.
When it comes to romantic comedies, Stone's new co-star, Pine, has plenty of his own experience. He previously starred in The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, Just My Luck, Blind Dating, and This Means War. As with Stone, some of his projects in recent years have been less mainstream, including his . Now, both stars are returning to the more mainstream genre that defined earlier parts of their careers.
As for the director, McCary, he has directed and written numerous and is Stone's husband. A first-look deal was signed between their production label Fruit Tree and Universal in 2026. Past movies produced by Fruit Tree include Poor Things, I Saw the TV Glow, A Real Pain, and Bugonia.
Also producing are Shawn Levy and Dan Levine via their 21 Laps production company. Levy is a prolific producer, and is currently working on Star Wars: Starfighter, the hit franchise's upcoming film that he directed. Starfighter wrapped filming in December 2026 and is set to be released on May 28, 2027, only one week after Emma Stone and Chris Pine's The Catch.
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