Ashley Padilla has been added to the cast of The Catch, the Universal Pictures romantic comedy starring Emma Stone and Chris Pine, the studio confirmed; principal photography is scheduled to begin in New York in July and the film is set for release on May 21, 2027.
The project is directed by Dave McCary and produced under Fruit Tree — the banner run by Stone and McCary — with 21 Laps and Michael H. Weber also on board. The studio describes the film as a mash-up of Bull Durham and Notting Hill, and Stone will play what the production bills as the most hated woman in baseball.
Padilla’s casting marks her big studio feature debut. Padilla joined Saturday Night Live in 2024 for the show’s 50th season, was a member of The Groundlings in Los Angeles and previously worked as Diane Keaton’s assistant. Her work on SNL drew a New York Times profile in April, and she is widely described as one of the true breakout stars to emerge from the show in recent years.
Writers Jen Statsky and Travis Helwig produced the most recent draft of the script, which began life as a spec by Patrick Kang and Michael Levin. With a May 21, 2027 release date already on the calendar, Universal has moved the film into a tight production timetable: casting announcements are landing well before shooting starts.
Despite the casting and the firm release date, key story details remain under wraps. The studio has not disclosed the plot beyond the Bull Durham/Notting Hill shorthand, and it has not revealed what character Padilla will play. That omission is notable because the production has already labeled Stone’s role in a way that signals a distinctly genre-driven premise around baseball and romantic comedy conventions.
The absence of a public plot summary creates a clear gap between the production’s promotional posture and the information it has released. With Stone described as a polarizing figure within the film’s fictional baseball world, knowing Padilla’s part would help place her within the film’s central dynamic — whether as a rival, a confidante, or a narrative pivot alongside Stone and Pine.
For Padilla, the casting is an immediate career milestone: it converts television prominence into a studio-picture credit opposite two established movie stars. For Universal and the film’s producers, adding a fresh comedic voice from SNL to a star-led rom-com is a bet on blending familiar box-office names with new talent to broaden the film’s appeal.
The next concrete step is the start of principal photography in New York in July. Universal has set May 21, 2027 as the theatrical release date, leaving less than a year between the start of shooting and the premiere — a compressed schedule for a studio comedy. The single outstanding factual question left by today’s announcement is straightforward: what role will Padilla play? That remains undisclosed, and its resolution will shape how the casting is read once cameras roll.
