While Jon Hamm isn’t going to be in theaters this year, the 2026 movie schedulesees the man returning in the Disney/Pixar adventure Hoppers. Which, coincidentally, ties into a story that he recently told about meeting one of his acting heroes through a movie project from a couple years ago. You see, not only is this film technically now part of the Disney library, but I have a wild pitch about how our Mad Men icon could reunite with this icon.
Jon Hamm’s ‘Bucket List Moment’ With Bad Time At The El Royale’s Jeff Bridges
Much like that story about Hamm’s “threats” to land Top Gun: Maverick, I can definitely relate to how he was star struck working with Jeff Bridges. Recalling the experience in an interview with W Magazine, Jon Hamm explained why this was such a big deal in his specific case:
I got to work with him in 2018 on Bad Times at the El Royale. It was a bucket list moment for me. I had been a fan of his since I was a kid. Everybody loves him as the Dude, but I just remember seeing him and another crush of mine, Cybill Shepherd, in The Last Picture Show. That’s one of my favorite movies of all time.
To meet Jeff Bridges would be pretty damned awesome, and surely one of the only ways to beat that is to get to work with the man. But for a movie like writer/director Drew Goddard’s overlooked 2018 neo-noir firecracker to be the project to make it all happen is the cherry on top. In case you haven’t seen Bad Times at the El Royale, you’re in luck! Here’s the trailer:
While these two titans of charisma are only part of an overall ensemble that keeps aging like fine blockbuster wine, they aren’t the focus of the piece. But since we’re talking about Jon Hamm and Jeff Bridges, I think I have just the movie they should re-team on.
I Think Jon Hamm Needs To Enter The World Of Tron
Now I know we have got a new trip to The Grid already on the books, but Tron: Ares’ cast doesn’t include Jon Hamm. Which is not a bad thing, because the movie already looks pretty fantastic, and I’m still hyped to see it this October. However, if this latest entry in the Encom legacy becomes the box office hit Disney’s looking for, there could be room for sequels.
If there is another Tron, not only would I want to see Jeff Bridges return, I think Mr. Hamm would make a perfect Program. Which is a notion that piggy backs off of my previous thought that our Your Friends and Neighbors’ lead would have been a perfect Terminator villain.
The source of such thoughts is, surprisingly, Jon Hamm’s villainous role from 2017’s surprise hit Baby Driver. If you haven’t seen that Edgar Wright action hit for yourself, beware spoilers:
Pitting that vicious resolve against Jeff Bridges’ wise Kevin Flynn, or a party that’s loyal to his cause, would be a dream. Plus, it’d give Jon Hamm more of a chance to branch out further in the sci-fi realm. Since both men are still working in the Disney family at the moment, it wouldn’t be all that hard. Then again, this much-sought-after reunion doesn’t need to be a Tron project.
So long as Bridges and Hamm are re-teamed on some sort of project, I think we’d be cooking with gas for sure. But at the moment, there’s no clear path for how or when that could happen. In the meantime, go watch Bad Times at the El Royale. one of CinemaBlend’s best movies of 2018. Or do I need to write another think piece about why it’s worth your time?
