We have learned that Dylan O’Brien and Eliza Scanlen are in talks to star in Vanishings from directing duo Celine Held and Logan George and producer M. Night Shyamalan.
Dylan O’Brien is currently making a huge resurgence in Hollywood after taking a small break after Maze Runner: The Death Cure and Bumbleebee in 2018. His film Love and Monsters, which released on PVOD in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic is said to have exceeded sales expectations and has since found a streaming home at Netflix where it has also seen large amounts of viewing figures. Most recently, he starred in Flashback and Infinite, but is now in the process of filming multiple projects.
He has just wrapped filming on The Outfit, where he stars alongside Mark Rylance, Zoey Duetch and Johnny Flynn in a film about an English tailor who makes beautiful clothes for the only people around who can afford them: a family of vicious gangsters. He is currently filming Not Okay for Searchlight and Hulu, he went trending worldwide on Twitter after fans reacted to his blonde hair for the film. Dylan O’Brien will also reunite with Zoey Deutch on Not Okay, a film that follows a misguided young woman, desperate for friends and fame, who fakes a trip to Paris to update her social media presence, but when a terrifying incident takes place in the real world, it becomes a part of imaginary trip and offers all she wanted.
Eliza Scanlen is just coming off the success of her role in M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film Old, where she played the older version of Kara. She has impressed audiences in the past few years with her roles in Sharp Objects, Babyteeth, Little Women and The Devil All the Time. She is currently filming her role as Eleanor Roosevelt in The First Lady, a film about how many of history’s most impactful and world-changing decisions have been hidden from view, made by America’s charismatic, complex and dynamic first ladies. The cast for the series is stacked with A-list stars including Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Gillian Anderson, Kiefer Sutherland, O-T Fagbenle, Aya Cash, Dakota Fanning and Ellen Burstyn.
Plot details are scarce for the film but it will be somewhat of an ensemble drama piece. It will also be the first feature film that since Sekhar Kapur’s The Four Feathers, starring Michael Sheen and Heath Ledger, that M Night Shyamalan’s Blinding Edge Pictures has produced which hasn’t involved Shyamalan in the director’s chair.
In addition to producing M. Night Shyamalan’s films such as Unbreakable, Signs, The Village, Lady in the Water, The Happening, The Last Airbender, After Earth, The Visit, Split, Glass and his most recent film Old. The company also produced 2 television series including Wayward Pines and most recently Servant which M Night Shyamalan has directed 4 episodes of so far during its run. Other than Shyamalan, Ashwin Rajan will also produce Vanishings.
Following the major success of Old, especially considering the difficulty of the worldwide box office during the COVID-19 pandemic, Night Shyamalan is already beginning to develop his next feature film. Whilst plot details are currently unknown in regard to his next film, we do know it will be releasing exclusively in theaters on February 17, 2023.
The directors chair will include directing duo Celine Held and Logan George, who have also written the script. The duo are mainly known for their short films Valencia Road, Mouse, Fever, Babs, Caroline and Lockdown. Their most recent venture was directing the fifth episode of Modern Love Season 2 titled Am I…? Maybe This Quiz Will Tell Me.
Earlier this year, Celine Held and Logan George released their first feature film Topside, which follows a 5 year-old girl and her mother deep in the underbelly of New York City who live among a community that has claimed the abandoned subway tunnels as their home. Their film involved production company K Period Media, who are also involved in producing their next feature film Vanishings. K Period Media also produced 2 major awards hits including Manchester by the Sea and Luca Guadagnino’s remake of Suspiria, they also produced last year’s sleeper hit The True Adventures of Wolfboy, starring Jaeden Martell. Josh Godfrey and Kimberly Steward will produce and executive produce Vanishings respectively under the K Period Media production company.
Filming is set to begin by the end of the year as long as actors’ schedules permit no scheduling conflicts. The film is expected to be shopped around to distributors either soon or after production has wrapped.
