John Krasinski has a new movie on the horizon, and this time he’s not the star. The Office alum is the director of the new family film IF, which stars Ryan Reynolds alongside an all star cast. It’s the fourth directorial feat from Krasinski, who previously directed A Quiet Place, A Quiet Place Part II, and The Hollars. With such a strong resume, the actor is quickly becoming a highly sought after director, however he didn’t always know this was on the horizon for his career. Krasinski recently revealed that it was actually George Clooney who predicted his directorial path, before the Jack Ryan star realized it himself.
The anticipation for IF is real, and Krasinski sat down with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show to talk about the project. He chatted about some of his inspirations for the film, as well as what it was work with stars like Bradley Cooper, Blake Lively, and of course, his wife, Emily Blunt. He also opened up about what set him up to venture behind the camera after spending his career acting. Krasinski revealed it was actually a seed planted by George Clooney, who saw his potential early on. The former sitcom actor said of his Leatherheads co-star:
You know what’s funny is he was the first person who ever thought I would direct. So, he would take me to dinner while we were shooting Leatherheads and he would show me on a drawing ‘This is what I’m gonna shoot tomorrow, and put the cameras here.’ And I said ‘That’s amazing. Why are you telling me this?’ And he was like ‘Well, you’re not just going to be an actor right? You’re gonna go on to direct?’ And I went [shrugs] ‘Yeah.’ I had no idea; he [knew] before I did.
Clooney clearly has great instincts, which is what makes him a great director himself. The Oceans 11 star has ventured behind the camera a number of times himself for movies like Good Night and Good Luck, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and most recently, The Boys in the Boat. While he was directing John Krasinski in the sports comedy, he clearly saw the director’s instincts that he also possesses. Clooney was definitely correct with his intuition, and Krasinki’s directorial run has been very successful so far, with A Quiet Place being one of the best horror movies ever. I’m looking forward to seeing if IF carries on this streak.
IF is somewhat of a risk for Krasinski, who’s prowess as a horror director seemed to be a great lane for him to continue his creative projects within. IF could not be more different from the A Quiet Place movies and is a whole new genre for Krasinski. IF is a family comedy that explores themes of childlike wonder, and mixes live action with animation. He seems to be taking a page out of Clooney’s book, who has also explored directorial projects within different genres. It’ll be interesting to see if Krasinski’s director prowess translates as well to the family film as it did with his previous, more adult work.
If Krasinski is going to model his career off of anyone, Clooney is a great candidate. The actor director has a talent for choosing great and interesting projects, ranging from rom-coms, to dramas, to thrillers. Like Clooney, Krasinski also went from being a TV star to a movie star, and has been successful in that path. If Krasinski keeps following in Clooney’s footsteps, we can look forward to a number of great and interesting projects ahead of him. Hopefully, IF is one of them.
You can check out John Krasinki’s IF when it hits theaters on May 17th, which also features voice acting work from George Clooney. You can also see his previous collaboration with Clooney in Leatherheads, which is currently available to stream now with a Max subscription. For more information on other films heading to streaming and cinemas in the near future, make sure to consult our 2024 movie release schedule.