Gore Verbinski Directs Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die
“12 Monkeys” comes to mind, but this could be a completely different story
After almost 10 years of absence, Gore Verbinski — director of The Ring and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl — is ready to return to the big screen with his first independent film: Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die. The film will arrive in American cinemas on January 30, 2026, distributed by Briarcliff Entertainment.
The protagonist is Sam Rockwell, playing a man who claims to come from the future and takes customers hostage in a famous Los Angeles diner, seeking unlikely allies in a mission to save the world. Alongside him is a rich cast of familiar faces: Haley Lu Richardson, Michael Peña, Zazie Beetz, Asim Chandhry, Tom Taylor, and Juno Temple.
A Welcome Return After a Long Silence
The screenplay is penned by Matthew Robinson (Love and Monsters, The Invention of Lying), while Verbinski produces alongside Robert Kulzer, Erwin Stoff, Oly Obst, and Denise Chamian.
Tom Ortenberg, CEO of Briarcliff, described the project as “a crazy, original, and unique film, unlike anything audiences have ever seen,” emphasizing his enthusiasm for bringing it to cinemas. The screenplay might bear a certain resemblance to Terry Gilliam’s 12 Monkeys (1995).
Before its official release, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die will premiere worldwide at the Beyond Fest in Los Angeles on September 28, 2025, with Verbinski himself in attendance.