Everything we know about Jake Johnson's Self Reliance movie

Get ready for a new streaming movie that’s like no other! Self Reliance starring Jake Johnson is coming to Hulu in January 2024. We absolutely can’t wait!

The comedy thriller, which is Johnson’s directorial debut, first premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in March 2023. And now, the film is making its way to us very soon. Read on below for all the details about the upcoming movie ahead of its release!

Self Reliance is streaming in January 2024 on Hulu!

Self Reliance begins streaming Friday, Jan. 12, 2024 on Hulu. Though we’ve known about the film for a while, we didn’t get news that it was coming to the online world until September 2023. Initially, the streamer announced a fall 2023 release date, but for some reason it’s been pushed a few months. But, hey. At least we’re getting the production soon!

Hulu is one of the more complicated streaming services, as there’s many options and tiers to choose form. But don’t worry, we’ve got your back! Check out a breakdown of all of the Hulu plans below:

Hulu (With Ads) – $7.99/month
Hulu (Without Ads) – $14.99/month
Hulu (With Ads) + Live TV, Disney+ (With Ads) and ESPN+ (With Ads) – $76.99/month
Hulu (With Ads) + Live TV, Disney+ (No Ads) and ESPN+ (With Ads) – $81.99/month
Hulu (No Ads) + Live TV, Disney+ (No Ads) and ESPN+ (With Ads) – $89.99/month
Live TV Only – $75.99/month

You can watch on Hulu by following these steps:

Visit the Hulu sign up page
Select a plan
Create an account by entering a username and password
Enter your chosen payment method
Login to start watching Self Reliance!

The movie has a very interesting premise, that’s quite unique. And honestly, I really like that! There’s been so many shows and movies in the last few years that are all very similar, especially with all the reboots, sequels, prequels, and more. It’s been hard finding content that’s a fresh, new idea to get excited about. But with Self Reliance, the comedy thriller has definitely piqued my interest! Check out the synopsis and trailer below:

"When a middle-aged man is invited into a limo by famous actor Andy Samberg, his dull life takes a thrilling turn. Johnson is offered a chance to win a million dollars in a dark web reality TV show, where assassins from all over the world attempt to kill him for 30 days. The catch? He can’t be killed if he’s not entirely alone, leading him to recruit an unlikely team to help him survive."

Jake Johnson, Anna Kendrick, and Andy Samberg star in the movie

It’s very impressive that in his directorial debut, Johnson also takes on the lead role in the movie! That’s definitely no easy feat. But I know the actor was up to the task. In an interview with Rolling Stone, he told the outlet what motivated him to take charge behind the scenes:

"I love television, but what I don’t love about it is there are guest directors every week. It’s an old-world part of TV that I hope kind of changes. Even if you’re doing a streamer like Minx, every week you have a new director as opposed to one director do all eight like a movie."

Johnson is best known for his roles as Nick Miller in New Girl, the voice of Spider-Man in the animated Spider-Man films, and Doug Renetti in Minx. As you saw in the trailer, Anna Kendrick is one of the main cast members in the movie and her character Maddy spends a lot of time with Johnson’s Tommy.

Actually, this isn’t the first time she and Johnson have worked together! They’ve previously done three movies including Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, Drinking Buddies, and Digging for Fire. Here’s what Johnson had to say about working with his co-star, per Rolling Stone:

"I know that I love working with her and love being around her. I learned that on Drinking Buddies. She was doing prep for her movie [Woman of the Hour] too as a director, and I really leaned on her a lot. We talked about the experience of going from actor to director, and she became a real ally for me in this movie in ways that I’ll always be grateful. A lot of times you feel like you’re in deep water, so having an actor who was not only easy to work with but game for everything and would talk things out with me became wildly helpful."

Other cast members in Self Reliance include Andy Samberg as himself, Christopher Lloyd, Natalie Morales as Theresa, and Schitt’s Creek actress Emily Hampshire as Mary. We shared the full cast list and first-look images below!