Akshay Kumar has revealed that he is set to begin shooting for his first web-series, The End, for Amazon Prime Video in the first quarter of next year.
The actor made the revelation in an interview with the international entertainment weekly Variety. He said, "I’m excited about The End. It’s a high-octane action thriller and takes me back to a genre I started my career with three decades ago."
Announced in March 2019, the web-series marks Akshay Kumar's debut in the OTT space. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns around the world, work on the first schedule of the project was delayed.
Speaking to Cinestaan.com in July, producer Vikram Malhotra of Abundantia Entertainment had expressed hope of beginning the shoot in 2021. Malhotra said, "We have utilized the pandemic in a very productive manner to finish our writing, prep and planning. So, all going well, if the situation improves quickly, we should be getting to shoot soon."
However, it now appears the project might only begin in the first quarter of 2022.
Akshay Kumar also spoke about his next film with Ranjit M Tewari, Mission Cinderella. The film was announced as soon as the duo completed production of their previous collaboration, Bell Bottom (2021).
Though shooting for the project was completed in October this year, the makers had not revealed its title. It is also not clear if Mission Cinderella is the official title or merely a working title.
In addition to these two projects, Akshay Kumar has several films on hand, including Oh My God 2! and Bachchan Pandey, lined up for release in the new year.
The actor debunked talk of the latter film being a remake of the Tamil hit Jigarthanda (2014). He told Variety, "I perform the role of a rustic gangster in Bachchan Pandey, inspired to fight for justice after a harrowing incident. It will be released on 4 March 2022."
The actor's first release in the new year will be the historical film Prithviraj (2022), co-starring Manushi Chillar. Prithviraj is scheduled to be released in theatres on 21 January.