Jon Stewart to direct new movie; courting Steve Carell to star

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Jon Stewart left THE DAILY SHOW a few years ago and has been taking some much-needed time off between making short appearances on THE LATE SHOW with Stephen Colbert and tending to his animal sanctuary, which takes in the occasional stray goat. Now he’s ready to get back into a big creative project, and it’s been announced via Variety that Stewart is returning to the director’s chair with a new, original movie, IRRESISTIBLE.

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Unsurprisingly, the movie will take place in the political world (Deadline is reporting it's a political satire), and word is Stewart wants his old DAILY SHOW correspondent and now Oscar-nominated actor Steve Carell to star. No word yet on if Carell will actually take the role, but according to his IMDb page he only has one movie on the docket (and one rumored) after his incredibly busy 2018 lineup that includes BEAUTIFUL BOY, VICE and WELCOME TO MARWEN.

Stewart made his directorial debut back in 2014 with the movie ROSEWATER, an adaptation of the book “Then They Came for Me” about the imprisonment of journalist Maziar Bahari in Iran. The movie earned great reviews but didn’t make a big splash at the box office, making $3 million off a reported $5-10 million budget. Since then, he signed a deal with HBO to deliver exclusive content for the network, but nothing has come of the deal and plans for an animated show were eventually scrapped. 

Stewart spent 16 years sending up the political scene on THE DAILY SHOW, while at the same time demonstrating an articulate and informed perspective on the issues impacting America today. If there’s anyone I want to see a political satire from, it’s Stewart, so sign me up for this one, and then double sign me up if Carell agrees to join the project.

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Carell can next be seen in BEAUTIFUL BOY on October 12 and in VICE and WELCOME TO MARWEN this Christmas.