Bob Odenkirk and Ben Wheatley Team Up as New Film Locks 2026 Release Date
Magnolia Pictures will unleash the Bob Odenkirk–Ben Wheatley action movie Normal on 2,000 screens in 2026, with the release date now set.
Bob Odenkirk made the jump from sketch-comedy brain to dramatic heavy to unlikely action guy, and now he is keeping that momentum going. After Nobody and the recently released Nobody 2, he is teaming again with writer Derek Kolstad for a new crime thriller called Normal. Magnolia Pictures just planted a flag for a wide theatrical run in 2026.
Quick hit details
- US theatrical release: April 17, 2026, via Magnolia Pictures
- Scope: Magnolia says this will be its widest release ever - 2000 theaters
- Rating: R for strong bloody violence and language
- Star: Bob Odenkirk as Ulysses
- Creative team: Odenkirk reteams with writer Derek Kolstad; directed by Ben Wheatley
- Timing note: Magnolia announced the date about a month after acquiring distribution rights
What is 'Normal' about?
Odenkirk plays Ulysses, a lawman drafted into a temporary sheriff gig in a quiet little place actually called Normal after the previous sheriff dies unexpectedly. That calm does not last. An out-of-town couple robs the local bank, Ulysses shows up to clean it up, and quickly realizes the whole town is sitting on rot. The bartender, the priest, everyone seems tied into something bigger and uglier. Ulysses has been trying to outrun his own baggage for years, but this mess forces him to dig in and pull apart the townwide conspiracy.
Who is making it?
Ben Wheatley is behind the camera. If that name pings your radar, it is probably from the run-and-gun genre work or the off-kilter thrillers: Down Terrace, Kill List, Sightseers, A Field in England, High-Rise, Free Fire, Happy New Year, Colin Burstead, Rebecca, In the Earth, and Meg 2: The Trench. He also has the upcoming BULK and the six-episode series Generation Z. Pair that streak with Kolstad - the John Wick guy who wrote Nobody and re-teamed with Odenkirk on the just-out Nobody 2 (that one was co-written by Aaron Rabin and directed by Timo Tjahjanto) - and you get a pretty clear sense of tone: lean, violent, and pulpy.
The release plan is a big swing
Magnolia calling 2000 screens makes this their widest rollout to date. If you track distributor footprints, that is a notable escalation. They are clearly betting that Odenkirk as a grizzled small-town sheriff in a bloody conspiracy plays across the country.
Early reactions
JoBlo critic Chris Bumbray has already seen the film and landed at a 7 out of 10. He was looking for an Odenkirk-led action bruiser and says he got it. He also singles out Odenkirk's dynamic with co-star Jess McLeod.
"It is packed with carnage, with him in top form as both action star and leading man. His chemistry with Jess McLeod is especially strong, and if a follow-up were to focus on the two of them as a team, I would be first in line to check it out."
Where this fits in Odenkirk's run
If you have been following the arc: comedy and writer's rooms early on, then Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul proved the dramatic chops, and 2021's Nobody flipped the switch fully to action. That one was directed by Ilya Naishuller with a script by Kolstad. The sequel, Nobody 2, brought Odenkirk and Kolstad back together, with Timo Tjahjanto directing and Aaron Rabin co-writing. Normal is the next chapter in that lane, with Wheatley steering and Magnolia going bigger than it usually does to put it in front of people.
Short version: Odenkirk as a reluctant sheriff dismantling a whole-town criminal network, Wheatley behind the camera, lots of red on the walls, and a wide release on April 17, 2026. Sounds like a nasty little spring surprise.