A minor update on Terrence Malick’s next feature, about which news has been scant since last year. Our friends at One Big Soul have confirmed that what was once known as The Last Planet is, in fact, The Way of the Wind—the latter apparently their title of choice since day one, the former a production code.
Nothing else new, unfortunately, though it is the second update this month, following nearly a year of radio silence. Early last week we learned composer Eleni Karaindrou—whose piece “Lament I” appears in Voyage of Time: Life’s Journey—is involved with the project, perhaps signaling strides made since editing was, apparently and to no one’s surprise, impeded by COVID.
As a quick reminder / article-padder, The Last Planet stars Géza Röhrig (Son of Saul) as Jesus, Matthias Schoenaerts as Saint Peter, and Mark Rylance as Satan, with Joseph Fiennes, Douglas Booth, Alfonso Postiglione, and Lorenzo Gioiell also involved. Little is known, though Rylance said the following last year…
“Terry wrote four versions of the character of Satan, and I thought I would play only one. But I heard I was going to play all four. One of them must have been a woman at some point, but it was when he asked me to grow a beard that I realized I wasn’t going to do it that way. I’m very happy to act for Terrence Malick, but I’m intrigued, because I hear he talks to you all the time. And coming from the theater, I’m not used to the director yelling at me while I act or tell me what to do. But his films always intrigued me.”
…and while promoting The Trial of the Chicago 7 had this little tidbit (via Third Coast Review):
“I’d come from working with Terrence Malick, so that’s a 90-minute take [laughs]. During the take, you’ll hear the cameraman say ‘Someone help me, please take the camera,’ and someone else takes the camera, and Terrence says, ‘Carry on. Don’t worry about that.’