Following the tragic passing of Gaspard Ulliel, one of the projects he was attached to has found a new actor. 1917 star George MacKay will now lead Bertrand Bonello’s The Beast alongside Léa Seydoux, Variety reports. Set to begin in August, the decades-spanning dystopian romance thriller is set in both Paris and California and will film in French and English. “Set in the near future where emotions have become a threat,” the synopsis reads, “Seydoux stars as Gabrielle, a woman who has finally decided to purify her DNA in a machine that will immerse her in her past lives and rid her of any strong feelings. But when she meets Louis (Mackay) and although he seems dangerous she feels a powerful connection to him as if she’d known him forever.”
After news broke earlier this year that Bong Joon-ho’s next film would be an adaptation of Edward Ashton’s new sci-fi novel Mickey7 starring Robert Pattinson, we now have an update on when the WB production will get underway. The shoot will take place between August and December of this year in the UK according to new reports, which means a late 2023 or 2024 release is likely in the cards as we imagine a substantial post-production schedule is in store. The sci-fi film follows a disposable worker drone sent on an expedition with humans to colonize the ice world Niflheim. If any mission is too dangerous, Mickey is sent and if he dies, a new body can be regenerated with its memories intact.
Ukrainian director Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi (The Tribe) has been attached to an adaptation of John Valliant’s novel The Tiger, produced by Darren Aronofsky, for some time and now it looks to be moving forward. Deadline reports that Alexander Skarsgard, coming off The Northman, has joined Dane DeHaan in the drama that follows a group of men in snowy far east Russia in the late 90s who protect endangered tigers from poachers and logging operations. Skarsgard will play the leader of the team and DeHaan will play an environmental scientist who is the group’s newest member. When a tiger kills a poacher in self-defense, they are tasked with hunting it down.
We recently reported that Jacques Audiard would be following up Paris, District 13th with a Spanish-language musical-comedy titled Emilia Perez that will be shot in Mexico. Written with the artist Camille, it will follow a drug mule who changes their gender to get away from the law and returns a decade later as the aunt of her family. Deadline now reports that Karla Sofia Gascón will lead the film, while Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldana are in talks to come aboard.
Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov will be premiering his new film Tchaikovsky’s Wife soon at Cannes and now we have news of his next project. Deadline reports he’s set Ben Whishaw to star in Limonov, The Ballad of Eddi, which will follow the life of writer, poet, and political rebel Eduard Limonov as scripted by the director, Ben Hopkins, and Paweł Pawlikowski, based on Emmanuel Carrère’s novel.
Ariane Labed, Christopher Abbott, and Mackenzie Davis will lead Swimming Home, which is the directorial debut of Justin Anderson, Screen Daily reports. Set to shoot in Greece this October, the dark comedy is adapted from Deborah Levy’s novel, which follows a married couple and a teenage daughter whose holiday goes awry when they find a naked stranger floating in their pool.
Lastly, Denis Villeneuve has expanded his cast for Dune: Part Two, which begins production this fall. Deadline reports Christopher Walken is set to play the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV, who was portrayed by José Ferrer in David Lynch’s version. The sequel, which opens in October of 2023, brings back Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, and Josh Brolin, joined by Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan Corrino and Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen.