I was back in Boston for Father’s Day this weekend, so I took the opportunity to watch the first episode of the new Showtime seriesCity on a Hillwith my family. We all came away impressed – a few shaky accents be damned – and at the end of the episode, my brother asked me where he’d seen the co-lead before. I told him, “probablyStraight Outta Compton. He wasn’t Cube or Dre or Eazy-E, he was the other guy, MC Ren.” My brother was about to shrug, and then I added, “his name isAldis Hodge, and I bet you’re going to be seeing a lot more of him.” He knows I don’t make such predictions lightly.
Cut to three days later, and here I am, writing up the news that Hodge has just signed on to joinElisabeth Mossin Universal and Blumhouse’s update ofThe Invisible Man. And yes, I’ve confirmed with sources that he is not playing the titular invisible man, so you will, in fact, be seeing plenty of him. In fact, based on what I’m hearing about the death row dramaClemency, I wouldn’t be surprised if he managed to sneak into the Oscar race this year. After all, indie distributor Neon helpedI, Tonyasecure a pair of acting nominations forMargot RobbieandAllison Janney, the latter of whom actually won. The point is that after nearly 25 years in this business, Hodge is finally on the verge of becoming a household name.
As forThe Invisible Man,Leigh Whannell(Upgrade) is writing and directing the film, which has still not cast its title character. Hodge will instead play the male lead, a cop and single father who cares deeply about Moss' character, but is dubious when she starts talking about invisibility technology. See, the Invisible Man will be a tech titan in this film, which makes sense, since Whannell’sUpgradealso involved the evils of technology.
Storm Reid(A Wrinkle in Time) will play Hodge’s daughter in the film, which is being produced by Blumhouse principalJason Blum, as well asKylie du Fresneof Goalpost Pictures. Whannell will executive produceThe Invisible Man, which Universal will release on June 23, 2025. Production is slated to start next month in Sydney, Australia, as the film is a co-production between Blumhouse and Goalpost Pictures Australia, in association with Nervous Tick.
In addition toCity on a Hill(which I highly recommend) and the awards hopefulClemency, Hodge will soon be seen in the upcoming dramaBrian Banks, in which he plays the NFL player during his younger years, when he was wrongfully imprisoned for rape. Those three projects and the WGN seriesUndergroundare all pretty heavy, so I imagine Hodge must be looking forward to having some fun with a cool genre movie. He recently co-starred oppositeTaraji P. HensoninWhat Men Wantafter working with the actress onHidden Figures.
And here’s a fun little bit of trivia for you – Hodge actually plays two different characters in theDie Hardfranchise. He playedSamuel L. Jackson’s younger nephew inDie Hard with a Vengeance, while 18 years later, he played a character named Foxy inA Good Day to Die Hard. Yippee-ki-yay! Hodge is represented by Paradigm and the Priluck Company, and Deadline broke the news of his casting inThe Invisible Man.
