What's next for this season's Oscar-celebrated directors?
Wednesday, April 28, 2021 at 1:00PM 
Chloe promoting The Eternals at comic-con
Chloé Zhao made history as the first woman of color to win Best Director. We don't have to wait long for her Nomadland follow-up. Next up: Her fourth film -- a huge change of pace from her three quiet earthy features -- is Marvel's gargantuanly budgeted sci-fi superhero film The Eternals which hits theaters on November 5th, 2021. She has two more projects in development that aren't very far along. There's another take on Dracula supposedly coming and a directing gig (but not writing) on a period biopic about the first black US Deputy Marshall Bass Reeves, who was born into slavery, and later arrested thousands of dangerous criminals working in the Oklahoma territory in the 19th century. That latter might certainly be a fascinating movie...
Mads with Thomas Vinterberg
Thomas Vinterberg won Denmark their fourth Oscar and became the first Danish auteur to snag a Best Director nomination (the other Nordic Oscar nominees in that category were three Swedes and a Norwegian). It was a long time coming given that he was first submitted to the Oscars for his international breakthrough, The Celebration (1998) which kicked off the controversial, short-lived, much-discussed Dogme 95 manifesto that the even more famous Lars Von Trier and other filmmakers were involved in. Next up: Vinterberg has maintained an international career ever since so we imagine Hollywood will be courting him again post-Oscar season (if they haven't started already) but his next project is a Danish TV miniseries called Families Like Ours, which is perhaps not a surprise since intense and intimate family dramas are his specialty. There's an English language remake of Another Round in the works (ugh) but Vinterberg is not involved other than hopefully collecting a nice paycheck.
If you haven't watched any of Vinterberg's previous films you're in for a great discovery. My personal favourites, prior to Another Round, are The Celebration (1998), Far From the Madding Crowd (2015), and The Commune (2016) though a lot of people love The Hunt (2012), his only previously Oscar-nominated film.
David Fincher is no longer prolific. Just putting that out there up front lest people get their hopes up. It was three years between Dragon Tattoo and Gone Girl and then six years until Mank (though perhaps that wait was partially due to Mindhunter on Netflix, which was superb and we're sad that there's no third season). Like a lot of A list auteurs he always has several projects in development -- currently there are 11 projects listed on IMDb that have not yet been realized and obviously most of them won't be (given the typical ratios in Hollywood) since there's been no movement for years. Next up: The furthest along of the possible projects is The Killer based on the noirish graphic novel about a professional assassin losing his mind. Michael Fassbender will star but since they're not filming yet who knows if changes are in store for this project.
Lee Isaac Chung broke through to a hopefully major career with Minari (2020). I never would have seen it coming after watching his very small and quiet debut Munyurangabo (2007) at a regional film festival in a mostly empty house but am so happy for him! Next up: like Zhao he's going from very intimate to very big on the next project, directing the live action remake of the much-loved sci-fi fantasy anime Your Name (2016) about two teenager who are mysteriously psychically connected and switch bodies.
Emerald Fennell is a multi-hyphennate powerhouse given that she writes, produces, directs, and acts... and she does all of those things for both film and television and stage now. So we imagine there's more to come all over the place given her triple-pronged recent breakthrough to the big leagues (costarring in The Crown, co-writing Killing Eve, doing everything on Promising Young Woman). Next up: this summer's world premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella in the West End which she did book-writing duties on. As for film, as far as we can tell nothing is yet set in stone for what's immediately nex. She is writing the screenplay for Warner Bros / DC superhero project Zatanna though that has no release date or director yet. Let's hope it's not too long before we get a follow up to Promising Young Woman. She definitely seems like an able multi-tasker given that this career explosion happened while she was very pregnant (giving birth to her first child three weeks after Promising Young Woman wrapped). She's handled the publicity and awards campaigning for Promising Young Woman and Cinderella duties and Zatanna signing, etcetera, while pregnant again and mothering a very small child. Superhuman!
Which of these future projects are you most excited about? Will every break out director eventually work in the superhero or supernatural genre?
Reader Comments (17)
Such a shame to see very talented directors waste their talents in MCU drivel. Only the Fincher and Vinterberg projects are exciting.
Am I the only feeling Chloe Zhao's The Eternals will be Ang Lee's Hulk?
I don't mind directors taking on MCU work as long as they don't get trapped only doing them and it grants them freedom to pursue their passion projections. Plus, if it means better comic book movies then it's a win-win.
Excited to see what Zhao can do in the CGI heavy world of Marvel and with Jolie. I think Jolie is one of the best actresses out there and can handle action/high-concept like no other (I guess, no other named Charlize). This is an exciting pairing, and I think it will be interesting to see what Zhao does when she's not just capturing the natural beauty of the west.
Any word on who will be cast as Bass Reeves. I have to imagine every major Black actor is fighting for that role. Given how long he lived, I imagine anyone from Yaya Abdul-Mateen to Denzel is in play.
Your Name was wonderful and it's very easy to see how that could be adpated and work.Even though it's sci-fi, it's far more of a human story. I'm curious about what direction the studio wants to go with casting and location, but that has a lot of potential and I think he's well suited to balancing the emotional stakes there.
Any word on who will be cast as Bass Reeves. I have to imagine every major Black actor is fighting for that role.
@Joe G: Yeah, that's going to be a big discussion. Winston Duke was the first person to come to my mind, but after looking at Google images of Bass Reeves, I gotta go with Kelvin Harrison Jr.
Why invite film auteurs like Chloe Zhao if in the end the movies look generic? [And we all know they don't have complete artistic freedom, right?] Anyway, dive into this pool of money, guys!
@Susanita, not all of the films look generic. Not to be a big Marvel defender, but some of the films are pretty distinct - Thor: Ragnorak has a specific feel and look that most Marvel films don't. I also thought there were some creative moments I also think that so much of the style is the same because the Russo Brothers have directed a lot of their films - particularly their most famous ones.
The fact that Zhao is doing Marvel next is a total downer for me and you can call snob, elistist or whatever because I really don't care.
The mere mention of Far From the Madding Crowd elicits another sigh for Carey Mulligan and another swoon for Matthias Schoenaerts...
I used to be so down on the MCU, but a great friend of mine changed my mind.
Comic books are wonderful stories and action films have a place in our vibrant cinematic landscape.
Let's allow auteur directors to make big budget action movies in order to finance smaller passion projects. But let's also encourage these amazing actors to continue to lend their talents to these stories.
Vinterberg isn't very talented, to be honest.
"Another Round" is one of the worst Oscar winners ever, "Far From the Madding Crowd" was mediocre (compare it with far better classic adaptation directed by John Schlesinger and with Julie Christie - it's great, Vinterberg's one isn't) and "The Commune" had great Trine Dyrholm and that's it: the rest was uninteresting at best.
Only "Celebration" and "The Hunt" were good.
On Marvel: I thought Dr. Strange had the most distinctive look among the handful of Marvel films I've seen. And probably the best-acted.
On Fincher: I swore I just read that, against all odds, they were trying to gear up season 3 of Mindhunter, seeing if the cast is available, etc. It might come sooner than we think!
Loved Vinterbergs Far From The Madding Crowd.
I think I’m most excited to see where Emeralds career goes, still astounded that Promising Young Woman was her first film.
Bass Reeves worked in law enforcement from his late 30s to his late 60s. So I'm seeing more Idris, Rob Morgan or Anthony Mackie in the role.
The idea that Chloé Zhao is doing a Marvel movie seems so random. One almost thinks it's their cynical way of saying they can buy anyone, even celebrated young auteurs...
I am glad that direct
I'm of two minds about Chloé Zhao's next project. Maybe her visionary take of superheroes will be swallowed by the big-budget franchise and studio influence. Or she can bring her singular vision to the screen that deconstructs heroes/ines and still satisfy the masses of moviegoers who love their movies strong on the gut punch with action. I'm happy she gets this break but I hope she also goes back to the adaptive realism she truly excels.
I thought Thomas Vinterberg's Far from the Madding Crowd is superior to the John Schlesinger in 1967. Just as subjective view.
A someone who loved the animé Kimi no Na wa (Your Name), I am a bit nervous how it translates to the live action version. I love Lee Isaac Chung but I only saw his brilliant Minari so I can't tell if he has the flexibility and range. I remain hopeful despite initial trepidation.
Excited for the future of Emerald Fennell. Excited for whatever David Fincher does next.