Anora Oscar-winner Mikey Madison has found her next project, and it's certainly an unexpected choice.
Madison, who also played one of Scream 5's Ghostfaces, has landed the lead role in Reptilia alongside Spider-Man star Kirsten Dunst... who is set to play mermaid.
The movie "tells the story of a dental hygienist who is seduced by a mysterious mermaid into the dark and wet underworld of Florida’s exotic animal trade." Alejandro Landes Echavarría, who helmed acclaimed hostage drama Monos, will direct from a script by Landes Echavarría and Duke Merriman. Imperative Entertainment, Pastel and AF Films are set to produce, along with Landes Echavarría under his A Stela Cine banner.
That's pretty much all we have to go on for the time being, but this is an intriguing premise, and the script was clearly strong enough to pique Madison's interest. The 25-year-old has had her choice of roles since her Best Actress Academy Award win, and is believed to have turned down a key part in Shawn Levy's upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter.
“She wants to do quality work. She doesn't want to do the same thing again and again. She doesn't want to play another sex worker right away, or another psychopath. She wants to mix it up,” Anora director Sean Baker said of his star during a recent interview with GQ.
Madison agreed, explaining why she plans to take her time when selecting her next projects. “It's an emotional job, and so for me, I approach it in an emotional way. I'm taking my time, which I'm grateful that I have the luxury of being able to do right now. I'm really, really excited for the future, which is nice for me.”
As for Dunst, following her acclaimed turn in last year’s A24 thriller Civil War, she is next set to appear in Derek Cianfrance’s Roofman opposite Channing Tatum and in Ruben Östlund’s upcoming A24 feature The Entertainment System Is Down.
Principal photography on Reptilia will reportedly commence in the fall. You can check out the trailer and synopsis for Monos below.
On a faraway mountaintop, eight teenaged guerillas with guns watch over a hostage and a conscripted milk cow. Playing games and initiating cult-like rituals, the children run amok in the jungle and disaster strikes when the hostage tries to escape.
Monos stars Julianne Nicholson as "Doctora" Sara Watson, Moisés Arias as Bigfoot, Sofía Buenaventura as Rambo, Julián Giraldo as Wolf, Karen Quintero as Lady, and Laura Castrillón as Swede.