Universal Pictures Lands Action Comedy Spec ‘The Worst Man’ From Matt Altman & Dave Matalon

EXCLUSIVE: The Worst Man, an action comedy spec from Matt Altman (Red Widow) and Dave Matalon (Totally Killer), has landed at Universal Pictures, with 87North set to produce.

Plot details are under wraps. This marks the second spec sale in less than a year for Altman and Matalon, who set up the action comedy Three Hitmen and a Baby at Lionsgate, as we were first to tell you. 87North, the company behind actioners like The Fall Guy, Bullet Train, Nobody and Violent Night, is also aboard to produce that one.

Kelly McCormick and David Leitch will produce The Worst Man through 87North’s first-look deal with Universal Pictures, whose Director of Development Tony Ducret will oversee the project, along with Max Jacoby for 87North.

Prior to Three Hitmen and a Baby, Altman and Matalon sold sci-fi action film Level Up to Hideaway Entertainment, with Vandal Entertainment coming aboard to produce. Previously, Altman also sold the revenge thriller Red Widow to STX in a bidding war; adapted YA novel Blackbird for Lionsgate/Summit and Alloy Entertainment; sold the film Locked & Loaded to Solstice Entertainment; and produced Feed the Devil, which he co-wrote with director Max Perrier.

Matalon co-wrote the slasher comedy Totally Killer for Blumhouse and Amazon, earning a WGA nomination for his work. Previously, he sold Dark Files to Netflix as a TV series and sold his script The Communion Letters to SyFy/Universal Cable Productions. He’s also the author of the Random House book The Concise Guide To Sounding Smart At Parties.

Founded by McCormick and Leitch, the director of titles like The Fall Guy, Bullet Train and Atomic Blonde, 87North’s films have earned over $2.9 billion at the worldwide box office. Next up for release is the company’s action thriller sequel Nobody 2, starring Bob Odenkirk, which releases August 15. Up next for Leitch on the directing front is How to Rob a Bank, a crime thriller for Amazon MGM Studios, starring Nicholas Hoult, Zoë Kravitz, Anna Sawai, Pete Davidson, and Rhenzy Feliz, which is slated for release on September 4, 2026.

Altman is repped by IAG, Parallax Talent Management, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman; Matalon by Paradigm, Gotham Group, and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller; and 87North by CAA and JSSK.