August 26, 2015 - 13:44 AMT
Bryan Cranston, James Franco to star in “Why Him?”comedy

Bryan Cranston will join James Franco in the 21 Laps and 20th Century Fox comedy “Why Him?”, Variety reports.

John Hamburg is onboard to direct, and will co-write the script with Ian Helfer. Shawn Levy is producing under his 21 Laps banner, with Ben Stiller also attached to produce through his Red Hour Films shingle. Dan Levine, 21 Laps president, is overseeing the project along with Fox’s Jeremy Kramer.

The comedy is set over the holidays, when a Midwestern dad travels with his family to visit his daughter at college, and soon finds himself in a battle for her affections with her brash new tech billionaire boyfriend, Variety says.

Franco and Cranston are already building chemistry on Franco’s next directing gig “In Dubious Battle,” in which the two co-star.

Cranston’s “Trumbo” hits theaters on Nov. 6 following its September premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. He is also lending his voice to DreamWorks Animation’s “Kung Fu Panda 3.” He is repped by UTA.