Family comedies based around gridiron football have existed as far back as 1994 classic Little Giants, where the Super Nintendo iteration of Electronic Art’s Madden NFL Football video game was heavily featured. A new Marsai Martin vehicle, Fantasy Football, takes that concept to hilariously absurd heights.
Directed by Anton Cropper, the film stars Martin as Callie A. Coleman. The teenage daughter of an aging football star has their lives changed forever when lighting strikes both of them following an argument over the Madden football video game. This leads to Coleman receiving the power to control her father on the field using. Of course, the daughter and father team run into all sorts of comical situations that eventually bring them closer.
Besides serving as the film’s star, Martin also has executive producer credits through her Genius Entertainment company alongside Nickelodeon Films and LeBron James’ SpringHill Company.
Here’s everything we know about Fantasy Football set to premiere on Paramount Plus.
Fantasy Football release date
Fantasy Football releases on Friday, November 25, in the US and Canada exclusively through Paramount Plus. The following day, the movie hits the UK and Australian markets on the streaming services, with other international territories getting the movie at a later date.
Fantasy Football cast
Marsai Martin stars in Fantasy Football as Callie Coleman. Martin broke out playing Diane Johnson in the long-running sitcom Black-ish, as well as starring rolls in the comedy movie Little. Fantasy Football serves as the first time the young actress is serving as the lead of a movie.
Alongside Martin is Army of the Dead lead Omari Hardwick as Bobby Coleman, her father and an NFL star. Some of Hardwick’s other credits include Kick-Ass, Sorry to Bother You, Power and Pieces of Her.
Other stars include Kelly Rowland (The Curse of Bridge Hollow) as Keisha Coleman, Rome Flynn (How to Get Away With Murder) as Anderson Fisher, Hanani Taylor (Punky Brewster) as Kayla, Abigail Killmeier (Love, Victor) as Margot, as well as Elijah Richardson (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), Tyla Harris (For Life) and Isac Ivan (. Some former NFL stars are also set to appear in the movie, including Tony Gonzalez as Coach Lance Evans and Nate Burleson, Jim Nantz and Tony Romo as themselves.
Fantasy Football plot
Here is the official logline from Paramount Plus:
"In this hilarious and heartwarming father-daughter sports fantasy, everything changes when Callie A. Coleman discovers she can magically control her father Bobby’s performance on the football field. When Callie plays as her dad, a running back for the Atlanta Falcons, in EA Sports Madden NFL 23, Bobby is transformed from a fumblitis-plagued journeyman to a star running back bound for superstardom alongside his daughter and wife Keisha. With the NFL Playoffs looming and the pressures of Callie’s new commitment to her friends on the robotics team mounting, the two must forge ahead to keep the magic a secret as they juggle the highs and lows of their newfound success, all as they rediscover what it really means to be a family."
Fantasy Football trailer
Watch the trailer Paramount Plus released for Fantasy Football below:
Fantasy Football director
Anton Cooper is making his movie directing debut with Fantasy Football, though he is a long-time veteran of directing for TV. Among Cooper’s TV credits are Everybody Hates Chris, Monk, Suits, Mixed-ish and Black-ish, including the latter’s memorable Juneteenth episode.
