After releasing his stop-motion animation Isle of Dogs only earlier this year, Wes Anderson is reportedly already working on his next feature film. Little is known so far, other than that it will be a musical set in France shortly after the end of the Second World War. Filming is expected to start next year in Angoulême, a commune in France.
Anderson himself is known to have quite the affection for France and French culture. When he was 12, he proposed to his parents (with the aid of handouts) that they should move to Paris as the schools were better; he now currently resides there. Although this is set to be his first foray into the musical genre in his 22 years of filmmaking, one can expect that his love for the setting and distinct cinematographic style will flourish, leading to the creation of another artsy classic.
Anderson is perhaps best known for his films The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Moonrise Kingdom (2012), and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). As well as these films, he is renowned for his use of diverse colour palettes and symmetry, as well as having a penchant for panache. It is likely that the film will include some of Anderson’s frequent collaborators, such as the Wilson brothers (Luke, Owen, and Andrew), Anjelica Huston, and Bill Murray – with the latter appearing in all but one of the director’s films.
This untitled project is set to be the Oscar-nominated auteur’s 10th feature film and 3rd period film (after Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel). As it has not yet been officially announced, no release date has been set, though some news outlets are predicting it to hit cinemas in 2020.
Words by Adam Cooper