'' Secret Headquarters'' is a 2022 American

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Henry Joost Henry Joost (born October 30, 1982) is an American filmmaker, whose work includes directing, with Ariel Schulman, the films ''Catfish'', '' Paranormal Activity 3'', '' Paranormal Activity 4'', ''Nerve'' and '' Project Power''. Henry is marrie ...

and

Ariel Schulman Marek Ariel Schulman (born October 2, 1981) is an American filmmaker and actor. He starred in, produced, and directed the 2010 documentary ''Catfish'', and co-directed '' Paranormal Activity 3'' (2011), ''Paranormal Activity 4'' (2012), ''Nerve' ...

, who co-wrote the movie with Christopher L. Yost and Josh Koenigsberg, based on a story by Yost. Starring

Owen Wilson Owen Cunningham Wilson (born November 18, 1968) is an American actor. He has frequently worked with filmmaker Wes Anderson, with whom he has shared writing and acting credits on the films '' Bottle Rocket'' (1996), '' Rushmore'' (1998), and ''T ...

Walker Scobell Walker Scobell (born January 5, 2009) is an American actor. Born in Virginia, he made his professional acting debut at age 13 and gained immediate recognition for his lead roles in the science fiction streaming films ''The Adam Project'' and '' ...

, Jesse Williams, Keith L. Williams, Momona Tamada,

Charles Melton Charles Michael Melton (born January 4, 1991) is an American actor. After working as a fashion model, Melton ventured to acting with guest roles on the television series ''Glee'' (2014) and '' American Horror Story: Hotel'' (20152016). His bre ...

, and

Michael Peña Michael Peña (; ; born January 13, 1976) is an American actor. He has starred in many films, including '' Crash'' (2004), '' World Trade Center'' (2006), '' Shooter'' (2007), '' Observe and Report'' (2009), '' Tower Heist'' (2011), '' Battle: L ...

, the plot follows a child (Scobell) and his friends (K. L. Williams, Tamada) who begins to suspect his father (Wilson) might be a superhero after discovering a secret headquarters in his basement. The film premiered at the Signature Theater in Arlington, Virginia on August 8, 2022, and was released in the United States on August 12, 2022, on

Paramount+ Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...

. The film received generally mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

Jack Kincaid is an ordinary human man who lives with his wife Lily and their son Charlie. One night, while they're on a camping trip, something falls from the sky. Jack goes to check it out. He finds an unknown ship and it gives him a kind of sphere that grants him superpowers. Over time, he uses these powers to help people around the world and is dubbed "The Guard", but his hero duties cause him to neglect his parental duties to Charlie, driving a wedge between them, and causing him and Lily to divorce. 10 years later, when Charlie stays at Jack's house for his birthday, he invites his best friend Barry Berger, his crush Maya Monroe, and her best friend Lizzie over, where they find Jack's underground lair and find out his secret identity. Meanwhile, weapons CEO Ansel Argon wants to use The Guard's power source for his sinister schemes. After the kids use Jack's gadgets, Argon's head mercenary, Sean Irons, brings his team to track down the power source. The kids fight back against them, and Jack manages to arrive just in time, but when Berger sends the source through a portal connected to his locker at school, Argon uses one of Jack's gadgets to get his suit and kidnaps Berger to find the source. Charlie leads his friends, plus a reformed Irons, to get their gadgets to fight back. The showdown takes place during the school dance, ending with Charlie sending Argon through a portal to another dimension with a grenade. He ends up dancing with Maya and kissing her. Charlie ends up joining Jack so they can fight crime together, while Irons ends up becoming Jack's mission control.

Cast

as Jack Kincaid/The Guard, a superhero. *

as Charlie Kincaid ** Louie Chaplin Moss as Younger Charlie Kincaid * Keith L. Williams as Barry Berger * Momona Tamada as Maya Monroe *

as Ansel Argon * Jesse Williams as Sean Irons *

as Hawaii * Abby James Witherspoon as Lizzie * Kezii Curtis as "Big Mac" Berger *

Jessie Mueller Jessica Ruth Mueller (born February 20, 1983) is an American actress and singer. She started her acting career in Chicago and won two Joseph Jefferson Awards in 2008 and 2011 for her roles as Carrie Pipperidge in ''Carousel'' and Amalia Balash i ...

as Lily Kincaid * Lucius Baston as Jerry the Janitor *

DK Metcalf DeKaylin Zecharius "DK" Metcalf (born December 14, 1997) is an American professional American football, football wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels f ...

as Coach Hammer *

Dustin Ingram Dustin Kyle Ingram (born January 25, 1990) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for his role as Bert in the 2016 remake of ''Cabin Fever'', as Duane Ogilvy in Nickelodeon's ''Unfabulous'', and as Agent Petey in HBO's ''Watchmen''. ...

as Jersey *

Levy Tran Vy Le "Levy" Tran (born April 8, 1983) is a Vietnamese-American actress and model. Early life Vy Le Tran was born in San Jose, California, U.S., to Vietnamese parents. She can speak English and Vietnamese. After graduating from Piedmont Hills ...

as Virginia * Michael Anthony as Wisconsin * Lav Luv as Umpire * Dayna Beilenson as Ms. Squint * David Lengel as Coach Skipper

Production

''Secret Headquarters'' was announced in January 2021, when it was reported that

and

would direct the film for

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

and would also work on the current draft for the project with Josh Koenigsberg from an original idea by

Christopher Yost Christopher Lee Yost (; born February 21, 1973) is an American film, television, animation, and comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Studios' Marvel Cinematic Universe with '' Thor: The Dark World'' (2013) and '' Thor: Ragnarok'' ...

. In May,

was cast in an undisclosed role.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

began in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

on May 25. In June,

, Walker Scobell, Momona Tamada, Keith L. Williams, Abby James Witherspoon, and Kezii Curtis were all announced as part of the cast. In July, Jesse Williams joined the cast as the villain.

Lorne Balfe Lorne Balfe (born 23 February 1976) is a Scottish composer of film, television and video game scores. A veteran of Hans Zimmer's Remote Control Productions, Balfe's scoring credits include the films '' Megamind'', ''Penguins of Madagascar'', ...

composed the score.

Release

''Secret Headquarters'' was released on

on August 12, 2022. It was originally scheduled to be released in theaters on August 5, 2022 before moving to streaming on the same date. The film's red carpet premiere took place at the Signature Theater in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on August 8, 2022.

Home media

''Secret Headquarters'' was released on Blu-ray and DVD on December 20, 2022.

Critical reception

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

assigned the film a weighted average score of 47 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

References

External links

* {{Paramount+ 2022 adventure films 2022 comedy films 2022 films 2020s adventure comedy films 2020s superhero films American adventure comedy films American superhero films Films directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman Films produced by Jerry Bruckheimer Films with screenplays by Christopher Yost Films scored by Lorne Balfe Films shot in Atlanta Films shot in Los Angeles Paramount Pictures films Jerry Bruckheimer Films films Paramount+ original films 2020s English-language films Films about father–son relationships 2020s American films English-language action films English-language adventure comedy films