Inside 'The Wrecking Crew': From Viral Tweet to Full-Throttle Action
- Elliot Lines
- 13 minutes ago
- 3 min read
By Elliot Lines - January 27, 2026
From a viral tweet to a full-blown action spectacle, The Wrecking Crew has come together in one of the most organic ways imaginable. During the film’s global press conference, director Ángel Manuel Soto and stars Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista broke down how their bruising buddy movie grew from a simple idea into an action film driven as much by emotion as spectacle.
For Soto, the appeal was immediate. Reading Jonathan Tropper’s script before knowing Momoa and Bautista were attached, he was drawn to its emotional spine. “I was able to do a buddy action movie that I’ve always wanted to do,” he explained, “but it had a lot of heart… the heart between the two brothers.” That balance became central to the film’s identity.
The project’s origins trace back to Momoa and Bautista’s time on See, where mutual respect quickly turned into creative momentum. “There’s not too many people in the industry that are big guys that can fight, that can really, really act,” Momoa said, admitting he’d long wanted to share the screen with Bautista in a more playful, confrontational setting. A tweet suggesting a Lethal Weapon-style pairing sent the internet into a frenzy and kickstarted a remarkably fast development process.
Bautista downplayed the viral attention, insisting the motivation was personal rather than strategic. After See, he felt creatively unfulfilled. “He’s super high energy. I’m super low energy… it just works,” he said, noting how their opposing personalities naturally translate into compelling on-screen chemistry. Crucially, both actors were keen to avoid being boxed in as purely physical performers. “We’d rather either make people cry or make people laugh than just do a fight scene,” Bautista added.
That mindset feeds directly into the film’s standout fight between the two leads — a savage, rain-soaked brawl that marks a tonal shift. Bautista described it as cathartic, calling it “two brothers getting out a lot of resentment… mostly stemming from daddy issues.” Soto emphasised that the sequence wasn’t about spectacle alone: “I like to tell the story through action,” he said, describing it as one of the easiest scenes to cut because everyone understood its emotional purpose.
Shot across New Zealand and Hawaii, the production embraced its locations fully. Soto admitted he would have been “heartbroken” had the film been confined to soundstages, while Momoa relished working in places he considers home. The environments, much like the relationships on screen, were integral to the film’s texture.
As for what audiences should expect, Bautista kept it simple: “I hope they just have a great time… there’s a lot of heart to it, a lot of action.” Momoa went further, calling it “one of the funnest films I’ve ever made,” and likening it to an homage to classic buddy action movies — “for a different generation.”
Soto perhaps summed it up best, sharing reactions from early viewers who were caught off guard by the film’s emotional pull. “I did not expect to be moved watching an action movie,” he recalled hearing. That response, he believes, is The Wrecking Crew’s real victory — a film that delivers the expected punches while landing a few unexpected emotional blows along the way.
Enjoy this press conference coverage? Our solo interview with Ángel Manuel Soto releases on January 29. The Wrecking Crew will be available globally on Prime Video on 28 January.
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