Deadline reports that Steven Soderbergh is setting up the cast for his next project, with Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings), Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You), and James Corden (Cats) signing on.
Titled The Christophers, the dark comedy is “about the estranged children of a once-famous artist who hire a forger to complete his unfinished works so they can be discovered and sold after his death.” The movie has been scripted by Ed Solomon, who has worked with Soderbergh on several projects, including No Sudden Move, Full Circle, and Mosaic. Production will kick off in London in February.
Soderbergh has several movies set to debut in the new year. First up is Presence, a psychological thriller about a family who moves into a suburban house and becomes convinced they are not alone after a supernatural force infiltrates the house and takes a specific interest in the couple’s daughter. The film stars Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan, Callina Liang, Julia Fox, Eddy Maday, and West Mulholland. Our own Chris Bumbray caught the film when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and you can read his review right here. Presence will hit theaters on January 17, 2025.
Next up is Black Bag, a spy thriller with an all-star cast, which includes Cate Blanchett (Borderlands), Michael Fassbender (The Agency), and Regé-Jean Page (Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves). Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the film will debut in theaters on March 14, 2025.
As for McKellen, the actor has expressed a tentative willingness to return for the upcoming Lord of the Rings spinoff movie featuring Gollum. However, the 85-year-old actor added that they’d “better be quick” about it if they want him back. The Gollum movie may not be the only Lord of the Rings project that McKellen could return for. Screenwriter Philippa Boyens has said that they’re “playing around with a number of ideas, but most of those ideas do involve Gandalf.“
Andy Serkis, who will direct the movie and play Gollum, dropped a few teases about The Hunt for Gollum earlier this year. “It is so early; it would be unfair to commit to anything at this point,” Serkis said. “But I will say that it will be a deep dive where we investigate Gollum’s character. There may be characters that we recognize that might be coming back. I’m not going to say who.“
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