Better Call Saul Star's New Action-Comedy Is a Minnesota Hot Fuzz—and the Internet Is Loving It

Bob Odenkirk is back swinging in a new action movie called Normal, and the first trailer immediately set the internet off with a very specific comparison. Yep, people are seeing Hot Fuzz all over this thing. Honestly? Not a bad comp.

The setup

Odenkirk plays Ulysses, a temporary sheriff in Normal, Minnesota, who stumbles into a small-town conspiracy after a violent bank robbery. The trailer starts all sunny and brochure-ready before it flips the table.

"Welcome to Normal, Minnesota, a charming, unassuming town where time moves slow and a friendly face is always just around the corner... Oh, and our town moose."

"Life in Normal is quiet, peaceful, predictable. Until it isn't."

Then it goes loud: gunfire, windows exploding, a knife fight, more gunfire, a few explosions, and yes, someone takes a blade to the eye. The trailer even has a deadpan beat that fits Odenkirk perfectly:

"Why are they shooting at you?"

"I'm at a loss."

Why people are yelling Hot Fuzz

The cheerful small-town facade with a sinister underbelly? The cop-ish lead stumbling into a secret cabal? The whip from quaint to chaotic? It all echoes Edgar Wright's action-comedy Hot Fuzz, and people online have been quick to call that out. One person joked that Odenkirk becoming an action star rules, but this is basically Hot Fuzz. Another take I liked: imagine Hot Fuzz, but the lead figures out the whole scheme in act one instead of act three. And for the record, someone else pointed out the obvious truth of movie DNA: if a film brings a fresh angle or energy, borrowing the skeleton is usually fine.

Who is behind it

• Director: Ben Wheatley
• Writer: Derek Kolstad (the John Wick screenwriter who also wrote Odenkirk's Nobody)
• Cast: Bob Odenkirk, Henry Winkler, Lena Headey

Normal hits theaters on April 17, 2026. If you like the idea of small-town nice with big, messy violence — and a moose — this one looks locked in.