Apple Original Films lands ‘The Dink,’ a new pickleball sports comedy feature film

Apple Original Films announced a new sports comedy feature, “The Dink,” from director Josh Greenbaum and starring Jake Johnson.
Apple Original Films on Monday announced it will expand its award-winning feature slate with “The Dink,” a new sports comedy feature helmed by Josh Greenbaum (“Will & Harper,” “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar” and upcoming “Spaceballs 2”) and starring Jake Johnson (“New Girl,” “Minx,” “Self Reliance” and upcoming “Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed”).
“The Dink” stars Johnson as a washed-up tennis pro who, desperate to save a struggling club and earn his father’s respect, is compelled to break a sacred vow and do the unthinkable: play pickleball. The film features an all-star comedy cast with Ben Stiller set for a role, alongside tennis champions Andy Roddick and John McEnroe in key supporting roles. The cast of “The Dink” also includes Mary Steenburgen, Ed Harris, Chloe Fineman, Aaron Chen, Patton Oswalt, Chris Parnell, and Christine Taylor.
“The Dink” is produced by Stiller and John Lesher for Red Hour Films, and Rob Paris and Mike Witherill for Rivulet Entertainment. In addition to starring, Johnson serves as producer. The film is written by Sean Clements and executive produced by Rick Steele, Clements, Greenbaum, Joe Hardesty, Jonathan McCoy, and Daniel Crosser.
“The Dink” marks the latest collaboration between Apple and Stiller, following the global phenomenon “Severance,” which recently landed 27 Emmy Award nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series. Additionally, Johnson is set to star alongside Tatiana Maslany in Apple’s upcoming comedic thriller “Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed.” Stiller and Rivulet recently collaborated on “Nutcrackers,” directed by David Gordon Green, which was released in November of 2024.
Momentum around the Apple Original Films slate continues to grow since the debut of Apple TV+ over five years ago. Following its theatrical release on June 27, 2025, “F1: The Movie” debuted as the No. 1 movie at the global box office. Highly anticipated upcoming Apple Original Films include “Highest 2 Lowest,” the latest feature reuniting Spike Lee with Denzel Washington for the fifth time, which premiered in theaters on August 15 and will stream on Apple TV+ on September 5; and “The Lost Bus,” an emotional, action-packed rescue drama directed by Academy Award nominee Paul Greengrass, and starring Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera, premiering this fall. In addition to Apple making history as the first streaming service to land the Academy Award for Best Picture with “CODA,” Apple Original Film “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” also earned the Academy Award for Best Animated Short, and “Killers of the Flower Moon” landed 10 historic Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. Apple TV+ also recently premiered worldwide streaming hits including Emmy Award nominee “The Gorge,” starring Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy; “Wolfs,” starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt; “The Instigators,” starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck; Academy Award-winning director Steve McQueen’s “Blitz;” and “Echo Valley,” the thriller from BAFTA Award winner Michael Pearce, starring Academy Award winner Julianne Moore and multi-Emmy Award nominee Sydney Sweeney.
‎
MacDailyNews Take: Please let The Dink be in the vein of Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story!
Apple TV+ is available on the Apple TV app in over 100 countries and regions, on over 1 billion screens, including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro, Mac, popular smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, VIZIO, TCL and others, Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, Chromecast with Google TV, PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles, and at tv.apple.com, for $9.99 per month with a seven-day free trial for new subscribers. For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac or iPod touch can enjoy three months of Apple TV+ for free.

‎
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
The post Apple Original Films lands ‘The Dink,’ a new pickleball sports comedy feature film appeared first on MacDailyNews.