One of the film industries rising stars is actor Paul Mescal who stole the hearts of many in Charlotte Wells’ debut film last year, Aftersun. Around that same time and prior to Aftersun he starred in God’s Creatures, Carmen, The Lost Daughter, and Normal People. He’s set to star in a string of projects over the next few years, with one even having a release date for 2039. By 2025, this could be Paul Mescal’s world and I’ll just be living in it.
Foe (2023) dir. Garth Davis
Coming out later this year, we’ll see the science fiction drama Foe, starring both Mescal and the lovely Saoirse Ronan. The films description from Letterboxd is “Set in the near future when corporate power and environmental decay are ravaging the planet, Hen and Junior are a young, married couple living a solitary life on their isolated farm. One night, a knock on the door from a stranger named Terrance changes everything: Junior has been randomly selected to travel to a large, experimental space station orbiting Earth.” When I hear that, I think of an Interstellar themed plot where the male protagonist is leaving his family for an unknown period of time.
With this releasing later in the year, I’m sure it’ll drum up some Oscar buzz. I wouldn’t be shocked if both Mescal and Ronan earned Best Actor/Actress nods.
All Of Us Strangers (2023) dir. Andrew Haigh
Mescal has yet another romantically driven film releasing at the end of this year. Coming out on December 22nd, Mescal stars alongside Andrew Scott in Andrew Haighs All Of Us Strangers. According to Wikipedia, the films plot is “Adam, a screenwriter living in London, encounters his mysterious neighbor Harry and then discovers in his childhood home his long-dead parents looking the same as they did 30 years ago.” Boom, I’m in. Some of my all-time favorite films are about people writing movies. From Martin McDonaghs Seven Psychopaths to Spike Jonze’s Adaptation, that topic has always captivated me. Now, you factor in the relationship between Mescal and Scott and this feels like an emotional rollercoaster fit for the big screen.
Gladiator II (2024) dir. Ridley Scott
I recently watched Best Picture winning Gladiator a few months ago and loved it. At the conclusion of the film, I thought there wasn’t a need for a sequel, but one could be written. For all those diehard Gladiator fans out there, you’re getting that sequel. The plot line is “After being saved by Maximus in Gladiator, Lucius, the nephew of Commodus, is now a grown man.” Playing the now grown Lucius is the subject of this article, Paul Mescal, which is exciting. Mescal hasn’t done an action film before and he’s now getting the chance to star in the sequel for one of the most revered action films of the 21st century. Joining Mescal in the cast is Fred Hechinger, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, and Djimon Hounsou who was in Gladiator.
What really excites me about Mescal being the films lead is that Ridley Scott is directing it. He directed Gladiator and returns for the sequel, but he also gets the most from his leads. You look at Russell Crowe in Gladiator, Sigourney Weaver in Alien, and Matt Damon in The Martian — those are all great performances. His leads rarely disappoint and his casting is traditionally spot on. For that reason, I feel comfortable with Mescal wielding a sword in Gladiator II.
Hamnet (TBD) dir. Chloé Zhao
Here’s where things get really interesting. Mescal is set to star alongside Jessie Buckley in Chloé Zhaos film Hamnet. It’s been reported that Mescal plays a “hot William Shakespeare” and that’s something I never anticipated to hear. While it’s a wild twist on what we imagine Shakespeare to look like, I think there’s potential for this to work. The films plot is “Warwickshire in the 1580s. Agnes is a woman as feared as she is sought after for her unusual gifts. She settles with her husband in Henley street, Stratford, and has three children: a daughter, Susanna, and then twins, Hamnet and Judith. The boy, Hamnet, dies in 1596, aged eleven. Four years or so later, the husband writes a play called Hamlet.”
With Oscar winner Chloé Zhao directing and also co-writing the film, I don’t see where this could go wrong. Zhao co-wrote the script with Maggie O’Farrell, who is a novelist from Northern Ireland. Getting their minds to collaborate on this and put Buckley and Mescal in the spotlight feels like it’ll work.
The History Of Sound (TBD) dir. Oliver Hermanus
One of Mescal’s upcoming projects, The History Of Sound, is flying under the radar. The film will center around two young men, played by Mescal and Josh O’Connor, during World War One. Letterboxd writes that “the two set out to record the lives, voices and music of their countrymen. In this snatched, short-lived moment in their young lives, and while discovering the epic sweep of the USA, both men are deeply changed.” It’s billed as a war romance revolving around music. I’m not entirely sure if this is for me, but it’s for sure an interesting idea with two great, young actors.
The End Of Getting Lost (TBD) dir. Deniz Gamze Ergüven
Right from the jump, I love who is co-starring in this with Mescal. The beautiful Margaret Qualley will share the screen with Mescal in Deniz Gamze Ergüven mystery thriller, The End Of Getting Lost. Much like Gladiator II, I’m excited to see Mescal in this because he’s never done a thriller. This is the first time we’ll see him in a film that could make you shudder.
The End Of Getting Lost is described as “Set in 1990s Europe, the story follows a young married couple, Gina and Duncan, on what Duncan claims is their honeymoon, but after Gina suffers a mysterious accident, the story begins to toggle between past and present — and husband and wife — to uncover a portrait of love’s power and dangers. As the two hop borders across Europe, the couples former lives threaten to catch up with them while the truth grows more elusive.” I’m kind of stoked. Mescal is an amazing dramatic actor, but this will put him to the test. Can he convince the audience that he’s not who he is on the surface and has skeletons in his closet? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
A Spy By Nature (TBD) dir. Kevin Macdonald
While we don’t know much about A Spy By Nature, there’s some very intriguing elements. First off, it’ll be Mescal’s second thriller. This means if he kills it in The End Of Getting Lost, there’s a lot to look forward to. If he falls flat, then we could see a rebound performance for him in the thriller genre. Secondly, Kevin Macdonald is attached to direct the film which is exciting. He’s produced good pieces of cinema from The Last King of Scotland to The Mauritanian. Thirdly, John Hodge was tasked with adapting the Charles Cumming book into a screenplay and Hodges wrote one of the best scripts of the 90s with Trainspotting. There really is a lot to be excited about.
According to Letterboxd, A Spy By Nature “follows Alec Milius, a disillusioned twenty-something whose gift for deception catches the eye of MI6.“This just overall sounds like a cool movie with cool people attached to it.
Merrily We Roll Along (2039) dir. Richard Linklater
Yes, you read that right. One of Mescal’s upcoming films is set to release in the year 2039. By the time this comes out, I’ll be 38. That’s depressing. Nevertheless, Paul Mescal will star in Richard Linklater’s Merrily We Roll Along with Beanie Feldstein and Ben Platt. According to Letterboxd, the films description is “Merrily We Roll Along follows Franklin Shepard, a talented Broadway composer who abandons his theater career in New York and all his friends in order to produce movies in Los Angeles. The musical begins at the height of his Hollywood fame and moves backwards in time, showing snapshots of the most important moments in Frank’s life that shaped the man he is today.“
While this 2039 date feels ambitious and unattainable, we must not forget that Linklater is the same guy who directed Boyhood. Linklater filmed Boyhood over a 12 year span with the four nominal actors and actresses in their leading roles — Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane, and Lorelei Linklater. Linklater doesn’t fear ambitious and impossible projects… in fact, those projects fear him. I’m excited to see Mescal being directed by Linklater in this music related comedy when I hopefully have kids, a stable job, and a spouse.
