Wes Anderson announces new star for upcoming movie also featuring Bill Murray and Michael Cera
Riz Ahmed has been cast in Wes Anderson‘s next feature movie, which is quickly amassing a star-studded cast.
The film will mark Anderson’s sixth collaboration with fellow movie-making giant Roman Coppola, who worked with the acclaimed director on the script. The title of the film is yet to be revealed, but a number of huge names have already been attached to the project.
Following his appearance as Alan in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie last year, Michael Cera is set to take on his first role under Anderson’s direction in the project. Benicio del Toro will also feature in the project, after making an appearance in Anderson’s 2021 film, The French Dispatch.
The director’s most frequent collaborator, Bill Murray, has also been announced as part of the cast. The actor has starred in nine of Anderson’s films, including The Life Aquatic, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Now, Ahmed has been announced as part of the cast for the unnamed film, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Like Cera, this will mark the first time he has collaborated with Anderson.
The movie will be Anderson’s twelfth feature offering, following the release of Asteroid City last year. Like his upcoming project, the film was co-written by Coppola. Asteroid City also had a similarly star-studded cast, featuring the likes of Tom Hanks, Willem Dafoe, and Jeff Goldblum.
After releasing Asteroid City, Anderson ventured into the world of short films with The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More. The anthology adapted several of Roald Dahl’s works to screen for Netflix and even won Anderson his first-ever Oscar. The titular project, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, took home the award for live-action short.
Meanwhile, Ahmed has had a busy few years of his own. Last year, he took on a voice acting role in Nimona and became the leading man in Fingernails, a strange sci-fi directed by Christos Nikou. Alongside his upcoming project with Anderson, he’s set to take on the role of Shakespearean anti-hero Hamlet in Aneil Karia’s adaptation of the tragedy.
Anderson has built a reputation for his stellar ensemble casts, and his next feature already seems set to continue this trend. Between his trusted collaborator Murray and some new faces in Ahmed and Cera, anticipation for his next offering is already building.
A timeline for the project has not yet been confirmed, but the film is currently shooting in Berlin.
Revisit the trailer for Asteroid City, Anderson’s last feature film, below.