‘The Family Disappears’ brings David Harbour and John Cena together in the fifth season
David Harbour and John Cena join forces on Fifth Season’s bizarre tale of a missing family and a mysterious stranger—what ties them together is the hook.
The hook is all in the homecoming: a workaholic dad returns from a trip to find his wife and kids missing — and a stranger now living in his house who claims he bought it fair and square. That uneasy setup drives The Family Disappears, a dark comedy- thriller that pits David Harbour against John Cena in a cat-and-mouse scramble to figure out what happened to the family and how the home got “legally” taken over.
It’s the first time Harbour and Cena will share the screen, and the film is being backed by Fifth Season. Leaning into a contained, actor- driven vibe rather than big spectacle, the project is built around their face-off inside a domestic nightmare that keeps tilting from sinister to absurd.
Production in Atlanta
Principal photography is scheduled to begin November 10, 2026 , in Atlanta, according to Deadline. A theatrical release date has not been set.
Principal photography begins November 10, 2026, in Atlanta.
Both leads arrive with fresh awards momentum. Harbour recently won an Emmy for his performance in Steven Conrad’s DTF St. Louis. Cena notched his first Emmy nomination as an executive producer on Prime Video ’s Heads of State.
They’re also juggling busy slates — Harbour with projects including Avengers: Doomsday, and Cena attached to Matchbox the Movie — which makes this smaller, twisty standoff an intriguing change of pace between tentpoles.
Per Deadline, filming starts in November, with a U.S. release date to be announced.