Mason Thames was all over last year’s movie schedule with the live-action How To Train Your Dragon, the Black Phone sequel and Regretting You with Mckenna Grace. Now, he’s back with two 2026 movie releases in August alone: Nimrods and Idiots. No, they are not the same movie even though the titles are synonyms of each other. Still, we had to ask Thames about how the funny coincidence happened.
When CinemaBlend had the chance to catch up with 19-year-old rising movie star Mason Thames during San Diego Comic-Con, we talked about his upcoming movies. Here’s what he told us about having the uniquely named Nimrods and Idiots out this month:
I thought it was a joke, cause I found out both of the titles changed around the same time. And, it was around the same time as April Fools [when] I think I found out.
It's really funny how the universe makes some things happen, and that's certainly true when it comes to these movie releases. Honestly, I can understand Thames believing the title changes were part of a prank, especially given the April Fools timing.
Nimrods is a comedy about two high schoolers who drive cross-country to go to a Green Day show. They do so after they fall for a prank that the band wants them to open for them in Los Angeles. And Idiots is about two people who are forced to work together to transport a well-off but troubled teen to rehab. How funny is that? Check out the posters below:
As alluded to, while Mason Thames was making these movies, they both had different titles. Nimrods was originally New Year’s Rev – since the events of the movie take place leading up to New Year’s Eve. Meanwhile, Idiots was set to be called Shitheads. Here’s what Nimrods’ writer/director Lee Kirk said to us regarding the title change:
[Nimrods] was called New Year’s Rev. It was decided there would be a summer movie, which I was really excited about, because it feels like a summer movie that I would go to when I was a teenager… And Billy Joe's the one who said, ‘I think we should call it Nimrods.’ And, I [thought], ‘I wish you would've just said that a year ago.’
As far as Idiots goes, I'd imagine the marketing team thought the movie might be less marketable with a curse word in the title. There’s another thread that connects them, too. In Nimrods, Thames re-teams with Grace, his reported girlfriend after Regretting You. And, on Idiots, he’s starring again with Dave Franco… also from Regretting You. During the interview, Thames' Nimrods director joked that his next movie, which is a John Wick spinoff, is going to be called Dumbass.
Regardless of movie titles, it's great to see Thames getting to co-star with familiar actors, and for two fun roles. Nimrods is first, as it hits theaters on August 14. It's based on a story by the iconic band Green Day, along with Kirk, inspired by the “American Idiot” band’s early life on the road. As for Idiots, it'll be out a couple weeks later on August 28. I know I can’t wait to take in a double featuring these two new comedies from Thames.
