This year is a big one for Wes Anderson. He recently released his romantic, science fiction comedy film Asteroid City that has been met with split audience reception. Anderson released the highly anticipated Asteroid City, but he wasn’t done. He will also be releasing a 37 minute project about the Roald Dahl book The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. For that adaptation, Anderson casted Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel, Ralph Fiennes, and Ben Kingsley.
But I’m not here to talk about Asteroid City or his untitled Roald Dahl project. I’m here to look forward to 2024. In an interview with Le Monde, Anderson teased his 13th feature film that’ll begin filming later this year. When speaking with Aureliano Tonet from Le Monde, Anderson stated “My next feature film will be linear, with Benicio Del Toro in every shot. I can’t tell you much more than that except that it will be about espionage, a father-daughter relationship, and, let’s say, with a rather dark tone.”
I’m in. I am ALL IN.
According the the Letterboxd page for Anderson, under Untitled Wes Anderson Film, Benicio del Toro, Michael Cera (who was originally attached to Asteroid City), and Jeff Goldblum are set to be in this project. Cera has never worked with Anderson prior and I feel would be a fantastic fit for an Anderson film. For Benicio del Toro, he’s been in one Wes Anderson film, which was the 2021 comedy drama, The French Dispatch. Jeff Goldblum will appear in his fifth Anderson film with his most recent role being in Asteroid City.
Let’s dive deeper.
What Else Do We Know About The Plot?
So far we know a few key members of the plot along with the aspect of having Benicio del Toro in every shot, but Anderson revealed more in an interview with Richard Brody. Anderson told Brody “I’m going in another direction and it will probably be less dark than I’d planned. It will be a lot about family, even more than in Asteroid City.”
A dark Wes Anderson film? Yes, a dark Wes Anderson film.
While Anderson’s films on the surface have a whimsical look, he is great at conveying a dark and grief stricken plot. Just look at The Royal Tenenbaums. He incorporates a wildly depressing suicide attempt from Luke Wilson (one of my all time favorite scenes in movies). In The Grand Budapest Hotel and The French Dispatch, Anderson covers the topic of loss. The Fantastic Mr. Fox has underlying tones of economic struggles. Anderson is great at making a depressing film that’s wrapped with a bow of cute cinematography and fanciful colors.
One main question still in the air is who will play the father-daughter duo? It’s been rumored that Michael Cera will be the father, but nothing’s been confirmed yet. If that’s true then someone to play his daughter is still in question. If this film had come out around ten years ago then Kara Hayward would’ve been perfect casting. Anderson usually nails casting so I’m confident in whoever he picks, but that still doesn’t suppress my curiosity.
Does Every Shot Mean Every Shot For Benicio del Toro?
Could Wes Anderson be toying with us? He’s telling us that Benicio del Toro will be in every shot of the film, which is very intriguing. My only question is in what capacity will he be in every shot? Maybe Anderson is making a film using Sam Mendes’ 1917 techniques where the film is one whole shot and we just see Benicio del Toro once. That’d be absolutely wild, but I don’t think that’ll be the case. If he has del Toro in every shot in a prominent role, that will be the first time he’s done that with an actor ever, especially when you look at his last two films that are broken up by storytelling sequences.
It feels like it’d be a difficult task to get Benicio del Toro to be prominent in every shot. I’m thinking some of the scenes we’ll see him in will be having him in the background of the film. It would still constitute him being in the scene, just not in a prominent role.
Wes Anderson Teaming Up With Michael Cera Is A Dream Come True
There are so many actors and actresses that I’ve wanted to team up with Wes Anderson and Michael Cera fits the bill as a great addition to the world of Wes Anderson. He’s a quirky and awkward actor and a lot of Anderson’s films have characters with those qualities. Owen Wilson in The Royal Tenenbaums and Jason Schwartzman in Rushmore are quirky. The same goes for Adrien Brody in The Darjeeling Limited. Cera has mastered the art of playing an awkward character and showcased it in Superbad, Arrested Development, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. His comedic delivery is great, but with the film being a bit darker, we could see a different side of Cera.
