James Handy’s Final Film Scrapped After Top Gun: Maverick Star’s Death

If you were expecting to see James Handy one last time on the big screen, think again. His next film was quietly falling apart before tragedy struck, and now, well, it's definitely not happening.

What happened to James Handy and his final film?

James Handy—veteran face from Top Gun: Maverick, Jumanji, and enough TV series to fill a weekend binge—was killed this Wednesday, stabbed outside his home in Tarzana. He was 82. The circumstances would be shocking enough, but there’s also a rather grim subplot for anyone following his career: his last planned film, Kickback V, has been shelved for good.

The film: doomed from the start?

The woman behind Kickback V, Heidi Anderson-Swan, confirmed on Saturday that the project is dead in the water. Shame, too—the premise was a comedy about a band of oddballs trying to learn martial arts from a bemused instructor, and you can picture exactly the sort of gentle chaos Handy would’ve brought to that role.

Anderson-Swan had Handy in mind from the word go, apparently because he’d 'helped me a few times on projects when I was breaking into the industry.' She was pretty adamant:

'He was one of the sweetest people I've met in Hollywood. It was the reason I had to have him in my film.'

Production: off the rails before tragedy struck

Here’s the full, not-very-glamorous truth: Kickback V had already stalled during pre-production. Before anyone could even roll camera, the film was beset by cash problems and your classic indie headaches—logistics, delays, probably too many group emails. Handy’s death, however, was an insurmountable blow; the team isn’t even thinking of recasting or resurrecting the film. It’s finished before it began.

• Kickback V: Light comedy about misfits and martial arts
• Handy was the only choice for the lead, brought in through a personal connection
• Production was on hold due to funding/logistics issues well before his death
• Handy was killed outside his home; police have arrested Michael Gledhill (44), son of Handy’s long-term partner Wendy Gledhill, on suspicion of murder
• No plans to revive Kickback V—handful of pre-production scraps are all that remains

A career that never really wrapped

If you only know Handy as 'that bloke from Top Gun: Maverick', a quick scan of his CV turns up a steady run of recognisable TV and film credits—The Rocketeer, Unbreakable, Alias... the list goes on. He even managed to become a favourite for a new set of filmgoers via his latest roles. Tragically, whatever he might’ve brought to Kickback V is now just another lost performance.