The Lost City

The project was announced in October 2020 with Bullock joining as producer and star, and Tatum joining that December; the rest of the cast was announced the following year. Filming took place in the Dominican Republic from May to August 2021. The film premiered at South by Southwest on March 12, 2022, and was theatrically released by Paramount Pictures in the United States on March 25, 2022. It received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed over $190 million worldwide against a $68 million budget.

After a disastrous start, mostly due to the fans’ obsession with Alan’s Dash persona, Loretta is kidnapped by billionaire Abigail Fairfax, who realizes that she based her books on actual historical research she did with her late archaeologist husband. Fairfax has discovered a lost city on a remote Atlantic island, and is convinced that the Crown of Fire, a priceless treasure belonging to the ancient King Kalaman and Queen Taha, is located there. When Loretta declines to help decipher an ancient clue to the treasure, Fairfax, fearing an active volcano will destroy the site, has her chloroformed and they fly to the island.

Alan, who is secretly enamored with Loretta, witnesses her being kidnapped. Using her smart watch to track her down, he recruits ex-Navy SEAL turned CIA operative Jack Trainer, meeting with him on the island to coordinate a rescue.

With no real assistance from Alan, Jack breaches Fairfax’s compound and frees Loretta. As the trio attempt to flee, a gunfight ensues, and Jack is apparently shot dead. Loretta and Alan escape into the jungle.

The two spend a day running from Fairfax’s henchmen, then spend a night in a hammock in the jungle, before reaching a nearby village. Upon hearing a local singing a folk song, Loretta deduces that the crown is hidden in a cenote in the jungle. However, before they can leave, Fairfax again captures her. Alan chases them on a motorcycle, but he is also caught, and Fairfax forces the two to reveal the treasure’s location.

At the tomb’s site, they discover it is not a treasure-filled monument of Taha and Kalaman’s power, but a secret place for the queen to grieve her husband’s death. Her Crown of Fire was made of red seashells the king gathered to show his love for her. The actual treasure of the legend was not a priceless jewel, but the inseparable love between the king and queen.

Enraged, Fairfax seals Loretta and Alan inside the tomb as the volcano erupts. Rafi, one of Fairfax’s henchmen, having a change of heart due to Fairfax’s cruelty to him, surreptitiously leaves a crowbar inside the tomb to help the pair escape. He then takes the boat, and abandons Fairfax on the island. Beth arrives with the local coast guard who rescue Loretta and Alan, and arrest Fairfax. Some time later, Loretta’s next book, based on her adventure with Alan, is a success, and they share a kiss on the beach at the end of the book tour.

In a mid-credits scene, Loretta and Alan are shown attending a meditation class where they unexpectedly meet Jack, who is revealed to have somehow survived after the shot in the head. He claims he did so by using another ten percent of his brain.