‘Stranger Things’ alum teams with John Cena for film shooting in Atlanta

‘The Family Disappears’ is set to begin production Nov. 10.

John Cena (left) and David Harbour will star in the new comedy “The Family Disappears,” which is set to begin production in metro Atlanta in November. (Associated Press)

By Rodney Ho

56 minutes ago

David Harbour and John Cena, two actors who have spent plenty of time shooting films and TV shows in metro Atlanta, are back again next month to film the comedy “The Family Disappears.”

The movie is set to begin production Nov. 10 and will run 23 shooting days on location through early December, according to information provided to members of the crew union IATSE 479.

“The Family Disappears” follows an overworked dad who returns from a work trip to find his family has disappeared and a mysterious newcomer has bought and moved into their home, according to Fifth Season, the production company which produces Apple TV+’s “Severance.” The company did not say which actor would play the father and which one would be the interloper.

Mark Wahlberg ("By Any Means"), Rose Byrne ("The Good Daughter") and Mahershala Ali ("Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother") all shot projects out of metro Atlanta coming out this fall of 2026. (AP file photos)

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Harbour’s career took off after playing Jim Hopper on “Stranger Things” for nearly a decade. He has also starred in 2025’s “Thunderbolts,” the most recent Marvel movie shot in metro Atlanta in 2024 before Marvel moved out of Georgia and focused most of its films in the United Kingdom.

David Harbour accepts the Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a limited or anthology series or movie for “DTF St. Louis” during the 78th Emmy Awards at the Peacock Theater on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026, in Los Angeles. (Phil McCarten/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Content Services)

In September, Harbour won an Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a limited series for his role as tenderhearted, underemployed American Sign Language interpreter Floyd Smernitch in the quirky award-winning HBO Max drama “DTF St. Louis.” That series was produced in metro Atlanta last year and came out in March.

Cena has shot several productions in metro Atlanta over the past decade including DC film “The Suicide Squad,” Hulu comedy “Vacation Friends,” the second season of HBO Max’s “Peacemaker” and action comedy “Jackpot!”

Among notable films and TV shows set in Atlanta: "Gone with the Wind" (1939), AMC's "The Walking Dead" (2010-2022) and "Baby Driver" (2017).

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Actor John Cena (left) and his wife, Shay Shariatzadeh, attend the premiere of the “Peacemaker” at AMC Lincoln Square on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, in New York. (Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)

Fifth Season’s next production is “The Good Daughter,” starring Rose Byrne and Meghann Fahy, and is set to release on Peacock on Nov. 12. The six-episode limited thriller series, based on a book by Georgia author Karin Slaughter, was shot in metro Atlanta.

TV and film production in the area has been fairly consistent the past couple of years, though at a slower pace than previous years. The biggest projects happening now include Apple TV+’s “Guilty Creatures” with Julia Garner; Season 5 of ABC’s “Will Trent”; the AMC series “Thunder Road” with Dennis Quaid; Amazon’s limited series “The Challenger” starring Kristen Stewart; and Season 4 of Netflix’s “Beauty in Black.”