Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro; Quentin Tarantino and Samuel L. Jackson; Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. These are some of the most acclaimed director-actor pairings to ever grace the silver screen. After the success of The Favourite and most recently with Poor Things, Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone are looking to join that coveted club. Kinds of Kindness will mark the two's fourth project together (they also worked together on the 2022 short film Bleat), and because of their success rate, it has become one of the most anticipated flicks of 2024.

Coming off her second Academy Award win for her performance in Poor Things, many are looking forward to what Stone has up her sleeve next. From the film's impressive ensemble cast and intriguing plot, here is everything we know about Kinds of Kindness.

Editor's Note: This piece was updated on May 30, 2024.

Does 'Kinds of Kindness' Have a Release Date?

In March 2024, just a few days after Poor Things snagged four Oscar wins, Searchlight Pictures announced that Kinds of Kindness would be released in the US on June 21, 2024, in select theaters. In its opening weekend, the film will be released against Jeff Nichol's crime drama The Bikeriders, A24 and Annie Baker's drama Janet Planet, and the June Squibb Sundance comedy Thelma. This will mark Lanthimos' first movie to be released during the summer movie season since The Lobster in May 2016, as his last three movies were released in November and December. Overseas, Kinds of Kindness is set to open in theaters in the UK and Ireland one week later, on June 28, 2024.

Kinds of Kindness had its world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in May 2024, where it competed for the coveted Palme d'Or, marking the third Lanthimos film to do so after The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer. The movie ended up losing the top prize to Sean Baker's dramedy, Anora, starring Mikey Madison. However, Kinds of Kindness did not go home empty-handed as Jesse Plemons earned the Best Actor award for his performance in the film.

Collider's own Chase Hutchinson attended a screening of the film at the Cannes Film Festival and gave the film an 8 out of 10, writing in his review:

Kinds of Kindness is a return to form for Yorgos Lanthimos, bring his distinctly dark humor and boasting a standout performance by Jesse Plemons.

Will 'Kinds of Kindness' Be in Theaters or on Streaming?

Much like Lanthimos' other films, Kinds of Kindness will initially receive an exclusive theatrical release before eventually heading to streaming. The film is being distributed by the Disney-owned Searchlight Pictures, who also distributed The Favourite and Poor Things, so the film will likely make its streaming debut on the merged Disney+ and Hulu app, which is due to launch in spring 2024. Poor Things was recently made available to stream on Hulu, so if you haven't had the chance to check the Oscar-winning movie out, now is your chance.

Is There a Trailer for 'Kinds of Kindness'?

Searchlight Pictures released the first official trailer for Kinds of Kindness on March 27, 2024. Set to the Eurythmics' classic "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)," the teaser runs at only 46 seconds and doesn't reveal much of the plot. However, it does give us a good look at the movie's overall tone and how it'll shift between color and black-and-white photography.

Following the announcement of the movie's world premiere at Cannes, Searchlight Pictures released a 30-second spot for Kinds of Kindness set to "Brand New Bitch" by Cobrah. Stone's dance in the preview was actually improvised on the set of the movie. In an interview with IndieWire, Stone said:

"It was meaningful to him after we made ‘Poor Things,’ five years after we made The Favourite. And he had taken a break that whole time. He hadn’t made a film in between. So this was nine months after we shot ‘Poor Things.’ To be back in this world with Efthymis and a world of his own, there was a sense of joy in that for him and consequently, for all of us. But it’s heavy themes and situations going on. So it’s definitely not a cakewalk. Except for the dance part, which I thought was great. That was just fun. Then we just improvised and spent a while picking the song and that was really it.”​​​​​​

Searchlight Pictures released a slightly longer trailer for Kinds of Kindness on May 29. Once again set to the Eurythmics' track, the trailer is noticeably framed around Jesse Plemons' character as he talks about falling in love and getting hurt.

What Is 'Kinds of Kindness' About?

Unlike Lanthimos' other movies, Kinds of Kindness will be an anthology film. In an interview with The Guardian, Lanthimos revealed some key details about the film:

“It’s a contemporary film, set in the US – three different stories, with four or five actors who play one part in each story, so they all play three different parts. It was almost like making three films, really."

In an interview with Deadline at the Cannes Film Festival, Lanthimos described the movie's structure and how the three stories connect:

"It’s like three short stories, basically. So just by its nature there’s not so much information for the characters or their backstory. Apart from the fact that I like that anyway, to throw people into a world, into certain situations, and to try and figure that out, I find it more engaging.”

Jesse Plemons commented on the human nature of Kinds of Kindness in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter saying:

Shock. Confusion. By the time I reached the end and finished it, I felt like I had experienced such a wide range of emotions and feelings. My body was just on fire. But then on an intellectual level, you can’t quite comprehend why or what ride you’ve just been on. But that was exciting to me. This isn’t just a weird film for the sake of being weird. There’s something really human about it. I felt that it’s exploring issues that we all deal with but rarely look at in this way.

Kinds of Kindness will mark Lanthimos' first contemporary film since The Killing of a Sacred Deer, which was released in 2017. Auteur directors tackling anthology films is not a rare occurrence in the industry; Wes Anderson did it with The French Dispatch in 2021, and Joel & Ethan Coen directed The Ballad of Buster Scruggs in 2018. Lanthimos' distinct style feels like it will be perfectly suited to this kind of format.

The film's three stories are titled "The Death of "R.M.F.," "R.M.F. Is Flying," and "R.M.F. Eats a Sandwich."

The official synopsis for Kinds of Kindness reads:

KINDS OF KINDNESS is a triptych fable, following a man without choice who tries to take control of his own life; a policeman who is alarmed that his wife who was missing-at-sea has returned and seems a different person; and a woman determined to find a specific someone with a special ability, who is destined to become a prodigious spiritual leader.

Who Stars in 'Kinds of Kindness'?

As previously mentioned, Emma Stone will be starring in Kinds of Kindness, marking her fourth collaboration with Yorgos Lanthimos. Stone appears in all three of the film's stories, playing Rita in "The Death of R.M.F.," Liz in "R.M.F. Is Flying," and Emily in "R.M.F. Eats a Sandwich."

Stone is most known for her Academy Award-winning performances as the aspiring actress Mia in Damien Chazelle's award-winning musical La La Land and the resurrected Victorian woman Bella Baxter in Lanthimos' Poor Things. Stone also recently earned high praise for her role as the HGTV nepo-baby Whitney in Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie's bizarre Paramount+ limited series, The Curse. Stone also worked with Lanthimos on a secret new movie that was filmed in Greece in 2023 and will reunite with the filmmaker once more for the dark comedy Bugonia, a remake of the 2003 Korean film Save the Green Planet.

Stone will not be the only Lanthimos veteran in the ensemble either. Academy Award nominee Willem Dafoe and Margaret Qualley, who appeared on-screen with Stone in Poor Things, are also part of the film's cast and will be appearing in all three sections of the movie. Dafoe plays Raymond in "The Death of R.M.F.," George in "R.M.F. Is Flying," and Omi in "R.M.F. Eats a Sandwich." Meanwhile, Qualley plays Vivian in "The Death of R.M.F.," Martha in "R.M.F. Is Flying," and she plays dual roles as twins Ruth and Rebecca in "R.M.F. Eats a Sandwich."

Joe Alwyn, who was a major scene stealer in The Favourite, will also be reuniting with the Oscar-nominated filmmaker. Alwyn plays "Collectibles Appraiser Man 1" in "The Death of R.M.F.," Jerry in "R.M.F. Is Flying," and Joseph in "R.M.F. Eats a Sandwich."

The rest of the cast of Kinds of Kindness include Academy Award nominee Jesse Plemons (Killers of the Flower Moon), Academy Award nominee Hong Chau (The Whale), Mamoudou Athie (Elemental), and Hunter Schafer (Euphoria). Plemons plays Robert in "The Death of R.M.F.," Daniel in "R.M.F. Is Flying," and Andrew in "R.M.F. Eats a Sandwich." As for Chau, she'll be playing Sarah in "The Death of R.M.F.," Sharon in "R.M.F. Is Flying," and Aka in "R.M.F. Eats a Sandwich." Then there's Athie who will play Will in "The Death of R.M.F.," Neil in "R.M.F. Is Flying," and Morgue Nurse in "R.M.F. Eats a Sandwich." Unlike her co-stars, Schafer will only appear in the third and final story, "R.M.F. Eats a Sandwich" as a character named Anna.

Who Made 'Kinds of Kindness'?

Not only did Yorgos Lanthimos direct and produce Kinds of Kindness, but he also co-wrote the screenplay with Academy Award nominee Efthimis Filippou. This is not Filippou's first collaboration with Lanthimos. He previously co-wrote the scripts for Dogtooth, Alps, The Lobster, and The Killing of a Sacred Deer with Lanthimos. Academy Award nominee Tony McNamara, who served as the screenwriter for Lanthimos' last two films, was not involved this time around. Producing the film alongside Lanthimos are Ed Guiney (Poor Things), Andrew Lowe (The Wonder), and Kasia Malipan (In Fabric).

After serving as the director of photography on The Favourite and Poor Things, Academy Award nominee Robbie Ryan was behind the film's cinematography. Academy Award nominee Yorgos Mavropsaridis served as the editor of Kinds of Kindness, having worked with Lanthimos on all of his previous movies. Academy Award-nominated composer Jerksin Fendrix composed the score for the movie, after previously working with Lanthimos on Poor Things.

When and Where Did 'Kinds of Kindness' Film?

Originally titled "AND," Kinds of Kindness began filming in October 2022 in New Orleans. Principal photography was completed the following December. In the previously mentioned interview with The Guardian, Lanthimos revealed that he was still working on editing the movie in December 2023.

How Long Is 'Kinds of Kindness'?

Kinds of Kindness is Yorgos Lanthimos' longest film to date, clocking in at a mighty 2 hours and 44 minutes (164 minutes). The film beats out the Oscar-winning Poor Things by 23 minutes.

What Is 'Kinds of Kindness' Rated?

It shouldn't be too surprising to learn that, much like Lanthimos' other films, Kinds of Kindness has been rated R by the MPA. The film received the rating for "strong/disturbing violent content, strong sexual content, full nudity and language."