Tommy Karate looks a lot like Pete Davidson in first look at mob movie

Davidson's "dream job" has officially started production.

By Drew Gillis  |  July 23, 2026 | 12:00pm
Photo credit: Phil Sakanashi
Film News Tommy Karate
Tommy Karate looks a lot like Pete Davidson in first look at mob movie

Earlier this year, SNL alum Pete Davidson landed his “dream job” as the star and producer of the mob movie Tommy Karate. Tommy Karate was a real guy; it was the nickname of real Bonnaro family hitman Tommy Pitera. Based on the few photos we have of him, he doesn’t look especially like Davidson, but Davidson will now be the visage associated with Tommy for the rest of Hollywood history. Tommy Karate has officially begun production in Atlanta, and to prove it, we got a first look at Davidson in character. 

The synopsis for Tommy Karate reads: 

Inspired by a true story, Tommy Karate is based on Philip Carlo’s non-fiction book The Butcher: Anatomy Of A Mafia Psychopath and chronicles the pursuit and eventual capture of Pitera, a mob enforcer suspected of as many as 60 murders and known for the martial arts skills that earned him his nickname.

We’ll see how much of Pitera’s backstory the new movie, which comes from a screenplay by Davidson, director Justin Chon, and Joseph Gay, goes into. Born in Brooklyn in the 1950s, Pitera was obsessed with The Green Hornet and studied martial arts in Japan before becoming one of the most deadly vipers hit men in the mafia. Davidson will co-star with Camila Mendes, Simon Rex, and the man who’s in everything, Paul Walter Hauser. 

 
Join the discussion...
Keep scrolling for more great stories.