I’d heard from a couple reliable places that Brian De Palma was done with filmmaking; I’m very glad that they’re wrong. A little over a year ago, the man himself confirmed intent to produce “one other film” that was already being cast, ensuring the fascinating, compromised Domino would not close his career with the greatest-known transition to end credits. But a director who’s neither one for generous financing nor getting any younger left room to wonder, and with enough time that wonder becomes worry.
We are now able to confirm that De Palma’s making a long-awaited return with Sweet Vengeance, which shoots in Portugal this summer. He’d first revealed the project in 2018, saying it’s “inspired by two true stories of murders” and seemingly apes true-crime content: “I’m interested in how they tell the story of the crime, so I’ll do it the way [they] do on television.” A latter-day thriller in the Redacted—or, better yet, “Be Black, Baby”—mold? Auteurist heaven.
One other tease: we’re told Sweet Vengeance boasts two quintessential De Palma setpieces, which likely means murders in stairwells or elevators, perhaps to conclude an extended, wordless sequence of a man following a woman. Further info, including casting, will arrive shortly on what’s already one of 2027’s most-anticipated projects.