Outside Man From Director Brian Helgeland Starring Ice Cube and Tommy Lee Jones Lands at Focus Features 

Focus Features has acquired worldwide rights to Academy Award®-winning filmmaker, Brian Helgeland’s OUTSIDE MAN, starring Ice Cube and Tommy Lee Jones from Teton Ridge Entertainment. Universal Pictures International will handle international distribution for the studio. The film is expected to start production in November. 

OUTSIDE MAN, written and directed by Helgeland, is produced by Jillian Share and Jen Gorton of Teton Ridge Entertainment; Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz of Cube Vision; Bill Gerber; and executive produced by Brian Helgeland; Justin Bursch; Madeleine Moore for Teton Ridge Entertainment; and Ben Hurwitz for Cube Vision.

Logline: When former Chicago mob enforcer Ruben Bowman (Ice Cube) is released from prison, he is a man intent on changing his life. Disappearing into rural Texas, he finds work under a skilled furniture craftsman and retired Texas Ranger Gus Wanamaker (Tommy Lee Jones). As Ruben and Gus form an unlikely friendship, that bond is jeopardized when both men’s pasts threaten to catch up with them.

Focus’ 2026 and beyond slate spans a variety of films for every audience, including Curry Barker’s historic, record-breaking Obsession debut that has gone on to become Focus’ highest grossing film of all time; Werwulf, continuing the studio’s ongoing collaboration with acclaimed horror director Robert Eggers, releasing on Christmas Day; Elsinore from Simon Stone starring Andrew Scott in a deeply emotional and profound performance; Georgia Oakley’s fresh take on Jane Austen’s beloved classic, Sense and Sensibility; Sarah Polley’s The Bell Jar starring Billie Eilish in her debut feature role; Anything But Ghosts, Curry Barker’s highly anticipated follow up to Obsession; Occupant from Josh Giuliano; comedies 42.6, starring Andy Samberg and Annette Bening, and Mike Birbiglia's Old Friends New Friends, and more.