Trailer for new Parker film: Shane Black’s Play Dirty

As you may not have noticed because you’ve given up and stopped visiting, The Violent World of Parker has been on hiatus for awhile.

This is not a permanent thing. I plan to be active again before the end of the year. I am hoping to be active sooner than that.

But I would be remiss if I didn’t poke my head out of my hole long enough to get a post up about the new Parker movie, Play Dirty, written and directed by Shane Black and coming to Amazon’s Prime streaming service on October 1, 2025.

Play Dirty is the second “Parker” movie to use the name Parker for the main character. It’s the first to feature Parker’s sometimes partner Alan Grofield. And it’s the first not to be based on a book. Officially at least—you could be forgiven for thinking a couple of the others weren’t based on a book, either.

Still, you can tell from just the trailer that it contains elements of the books. The Score, possibly The Handle…

Also, you can tell that the character of Parker has undergone some changes for the screen again. Grofield, too, and more than a race swap—he doesn’t seem like a guy who acts in summer stock theater productions.

I know most of you will grumble about this. I’ll refrain. After twenty-five years or so of manning The Violent World of Parker, I’ve come to accept that no one who actually makes movies believes that the literary Parker will work onscreen, and they are probably right. The one person who tried was Brian Helgeland, and the result scared the producers so much that he had his movie taken away from him (Payback). It’s a lost cause. (And, OK, I confess to grumbling a little. But only on the inside.)

So I’ll just say that I’m happy that Play Dirty looks like a good time. I’ll be watching on October 1st.