Samuel L. Jackson plays Jack Wolfe, a wealthy criminal mastermind who fakes his death to escape the Feds.
Eva Green plays Nora Wolfe, his wife and supposed widow who plans to kill him for real. Just Play Dead is a 2026 crime thriller about their marriage-turned-con. Each spouse wants the payout and wants out from the other.
Table of Contents
- What roles do Jackson and Green play?
- How does the $30 million plot work?
- Who else drives the deception?
- Where can you watch it?
What roles do Jackson and Green play?
Jackson's Jack Wolfe is cornered and calculating. According to PEOPLE's exclusive trailer coverage, he schemes to disappear through a staged murder rather than face arrest PEOPLE trailer exclusive. The role leans on charm, menace, and control. Green's Nora Wolfe plays the grieving widow for the outside world.
Inside the marriage, she feels suffocated by Jack's control and plots to keep everything herself. The Writing Studio describes her plan as killing Jack for real instead of helping him vanish. Together they form a double-cross, not a team. Jack needs Nora's cooperation to sell his death. Nora needs his trust to turn the fake murder into a real one.
How does the $30 million plot work?
The lure is a $30 million life-insurance payout, to be split after Jack's faked murder, according to the Rotten Tomatoes synopsis Rotten Tomatoes synopsis page. That sum explains why both stay in the scheme while planning betrayal.
The basic moves are simple: The fall guy is Chad, Nora's surfer lover, played by Jason Fernández. Media Play News reports that Jack intends to frame Chad for the killing Media Play News digital release report. That choice raises the stakes because Nora must protect a lover Jack wants to sacrifice.
- Jack disappears through a staged killing.
- Nora claims widow status and files for the payout.
- A fall guy takes the blame for murder.
- The couple splits the money and escapes pressure from law enforcement.
Who else drives the deception?
Eoin Macken plays Dani, a local cop. His presence keeps police pressure close to the couple. María Pedraza plays Bianca, another figure inside the wider web of lies. The wider network includes Lee Boardman, Nicole Ansari-Cox, and Dar Dash.
They fill out helpers, threats, and false leads around the central marriage plot. Viewers should watch minor characters for shifting loyalty. The film also carries reunion appeal for film fans. It reunites Green with director Martin Campbell 20 years after Casino Royale. It also reunites Green with Jackson after 2016's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.
Where can you watch it?
Director Martin Campbell made the film from a Dan Gordon screenplay based on Gordon's 1997 novel. Filming in the Canary Islands wrapped in November 2025. That production path led to a focused U.S. release. Vertical released it in select U.S.
theaters on Aug. 28, 2026, then on VOD and digital on Sept. 1, 2026, according to BroadwayWorld BroadwayWorld VOD announcement. The short theatrical window limits theater access. Most viewers will need to rent or buy it digitally. Check Vertical's current VOD listings before planning a theater trip.