The cast of Lynne Ramsay’s next movie is coming together – Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara are on board the director’s upcoming film Polaris. Nothing much is known about the movie yet aside from the title and new cast members.
Phoenix has worked with Ramsay before – he starred in her last movie, You Were Never Really Here, playing a traumatized mercenary who’s hired by a politician to find and rescue his daughter who has been kidnapped by a human trafficking network. Ramsay has also directed We Need to Talk About Kevin, Morvern Callar, and Ratcatcher.
“He’s crazy, but he’s the best actor I’ve ever met. Everything he does on the set has a reason,” Ramsay said when asked about her new movie at Valencia International Film Festival. “It’s much more difficult when you come up with an original idea like this, but it’s impossible not to get excited when you’re preparing a movie with Joaquin.”
As well as being a couple off-screen, Phoenix and Mara have worked together a number of times on-screen – the pair both starred in Her, Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot, and Mary Magdalene.
Mara’s next role is in Nightmare Alley, a psychological thriller from Guillermo Del Toro co-starring Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, and Willem Dafoe, and she’s currently working on Sarah Polley’s next movie, Women Talking, alongside Frances McDormand.
Phoenix, meanwhile, can next be seen in C’mon C’mon, a drama directed by Mike Mills, his first role since his Oscar-winning turn as the lead in 2019’s Joker. He’s also working on Hereditary director Ari Aster’s next movie, Disappointment Blvd, and Kitbag, Ridley Scott’s upcoming movie about Napoleon Bonaparte. Phoenix will play the French emperor and military leader and the movie will track the historical figure’s origins and ruthless rise to power, as well as his often volatile relationship with his wife, Josephine (Killing Eve star Jodie Comer is reportedly in talks to play her).
Polaris doesn’t have a release date yet, but while we wait for it to arrive in theaters you can check out our list of the other upcoming movies to get excited about in 2021 and beyond.