Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Andrew Sanford | News | March 12, 2026
Paul Rudd still looks incredible. The man is almost sixty, which feels insane, because he has managed to look like he’s in his thirties for several decades. He still has that boyish charm and youthful smile. There is still an energy to him that insists the best days are ahead for him and that life has just begun. However, time comes for us all, even if it goes a bit more slowly, and Rudd is beginning to show his age, made more evident in a new trailer for Power Ballad, and he looks incredible.
The trailer for the film follows Rudd as an aspiring songwriter and wedding singer who teams up with a superstar played by Nick Jonas. We don’t learn exactly how they met, but they start playing music together, with Rudd giving Jonas some helpful advice on a new song. This leads to Jonas’ character using the song, maybe stealing it (though whether or not that’s true seems to be at the heart of the film), and them coming to blows. But one of the most striking things about it is how Rudd is portrayed.
It’s interesting to see Rudd play someone who is… normal. He seems to be playing someone whose dreams did not come true (or at least not to the extent that he wanted), but who was clearly hot shit at one point. Now, he’s a guy who could have been, with wrinkles beginning to encroach on his face. Rudd’s aging adds a level of depth to what’s going on that was genuinely unexpected, because I just never pictured Rudd as an older man. Yet, here he is in all of his glory (because, again, the age is slight and he still looks like a smoke show).
It was also a real pleasure to see Nick Jonas in this. I’ve only ever seen him in the Jumanji movies, and he’s fine in those, but it’s not like he plays a particularly challenging role. Here, we see him tackling celebrity and superstardom. He’s battling the pressures of staying on top and not being just another throwaway boy band act. Sounds pretty pointed to me! Just another layer to what could be a very interesting two-hander between two actors I never expected to see together.
This was a pleasant surprise across the board. I kind of expected it to be more of a “we got these two guys to sign on even though they don’t fit because otherwise this doesn’t get made.” Instead, Rudd and Jonas both appear to be locked in with two roles that could end up being very reflective of their careers. Or at least that’s the case with Jonas, you may look at Rudd and tell me I’m crazy, but I swear there are some wrinkles there! Hot wrinkles, but wrinkles nonetheless.
