The wunderkind returns. Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle (La La Land) has had his latest feature film, entitled Babylon, picked up by Paramount and scheduled for a Christmas 2021 release date. The film is supposedly set during the transition from silent film to “talkies” and will, similarly to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, feature a mixture of fictitious and real-life characters to seemingly retell a defining moment in cinematic history.
Now, given Chazelle’s unbelievable talent and his previous films’ success at the Oscars, it seems as if Babylon will surely be competing for a few of those little gold statuettes, especially with an awards-season release date. Combining this with the fact that the Academy loves rewarding movies about their beloved industry, it’s hard to imagine anything other than some considerable awards hype as the film’s release approaches.
Furthermore, along with the film’s official announcement came some very exciting potential casting news: Brad Pitt and Emma Stone are supposedly in talks for the lead roles. Pitt is coming off the back of a phenomenal year in the aforementioned Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Ad Astra, where for the former he is widely considered the frontrunner for this year’s Best Supporting Actor. Stone has had a relatively quiet year, by comparison, however, the opportunity to reunite with Chazelle, after winning Best Actress for La La Land, is surely a tantalising prospect. Even more so as she’s rumoured to be playing Clara Bow, a significant actress of Hollywood’s major transitional period.
Whilst neither have reportedly closed deals, there’s no disputing this would be an excellent casting choice, and with further rumours that Chazelle wants to assemble an all-star ensemble cast, this really is a space worth watching. In the coming months, there will inevitably be more announcements surrounding Babylon, but for now, it is already a project that’s set to cause a great deal of excitement.
Words by Elliott Jones