Gemma Chan, who will soon be seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Eternals, has signed on to star in the horror film Cuckoo alongside Sofia Boutella (The Mummy 2017), Hunter Schafer (Euphoria), Jan Bluthardt (Tatort), Zita Hanrot (Love, Death & Robots), Proschat Madani (Walking on Sunshine), and the legendary, Oscar-nominated John Malkovich (Being John Malkovich) (via Deadline).
Cuckoo has been written by Tilman Singer, who will also be directing the film. Production is expected to begin in April of 2022 – so everyone involved has a little while to get prepared for this one.
This will be the second feature for Singer, following the 2018 supernatural horror film Luz, which Bluthardt had a role in. Luz told the story of
a young cab driver fleeing from the grasp of a possessed woman, whose confession could endanger the lives of everyone who crosses her path.
Several of Singer’s Luz collaborators are joining him on Cuckoo. In addition to Bluthardt, also returning from Luz are cinematographer Paul Faltz, composer Simon Waskow, and production designer Dario Mendez Acosta.
Cuckoo is being financed by Neon. The film is being produced by Thor Bradwell, with Ken Kao and Josh Rosenbaum of Waypoint Entertainment, as well as Markus Halberschmidt and Maria Tsigka of Fiction Park.
Details on the plot for Cuckoo are being kept under wraps, but before I even know what this movie is about I have already been sold on checking it out because of the cast. Even if Singer only hired these folks to perform a spooky reading of the phone book, I’d be showing up for it. And actually, now I want to see Malkovich perform a reading of the phone book.
If you’re wondering which of Malkovich’s 130+ screen roles earned him an Oscar nomination, it was two of them: 1985’s Places in the Heart and 1994’s In the Line of Fire. Both times he was nominated in the Best Actor in a Supporting Role category.