(Left) Wyatt Russell from ‘Thunderbolts’ at D23 Expo 2022. (Right) Steven Spielberg arrives on the red carpet at the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards, airing live from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday, January 7, 2024, at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT, on CBS and streaming on Paramount+. Photo: Trae Patton/CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Preview:
- Wyatt Russell has been added to Steven Spielberg’s new movie.
- The ‘Jurassic Park’ director’s new film is a secretive event-level project.
- David Koepp wrote the script.
Not to be outdone by the likes of Christopher Nolan and J.J. Abrams, who both seem to be recruiting whole swathes of Hollywood and beyond for their respective next planned movies, Steven Spielberg has another name on the list for his latest project.
The powerhouse director and producer, still seen as one of the most famous and successful filmmakers in the world, has a mysterious new movie in the works, and Wyatt Russell is the latest to join the swelling thespian ranks.
Related Article: Samuel L. Jackson to Join Steven Spielberg’s New, Mysterious Event Movie
What’s the story of Steven Spielberg’s new film?
Director Steven Spielberg on the set of ‘The Post’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
That’s the one thing that has really been kept quiet about the director’s latest project. While it has been talked about as an “event movie” –– as opposed to his last two movies, ‘The Fabelmans’ and ‘West Side Story’, which verged more towards awards season prestige than summer blockbuster territory, this one will be squarely more in the wheelhouse of movies such as the ‘Indiana Jones’ movies and ‘Jurassic Park.’
Or perhaps we should say ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ or ‘War of the Worlds’ as the new film is reportedly once more focused on alien (or at least UFO) interaction. Nothing on that front has been confirmed, though, and Spielberg has the clout to keep it that way for now.
Still, ‘Jurassic Park’ is also a touchstone, since writer David Koepp, who wrote the first two outings of the dino-franchise (and recently returned to pen ‘Jurassic World Rebirth,’ which director Gareth Edwards shot), crafted the script for the new movie based on an idea from Spielberg.
The director is also producing the film via his Amblin company.
Who else is in Spielberg’s new movie?
Samuel L. Jackson at the red carpet premiere of Marvel Studios’ ‘Secret Invasion.’
As with Nolan’s latest film, Steven Spielberg is the sort of director who can lock down pretty much any talent that he requires, short of them being unavailable.
Jackson is just the newest person mentioned; the film already features the likes of Eve Hewson, Emily Blunt, Colman Domingo and Colin Firth.
Most recently, Samuel L. Jackson –– who appeared in ‘Jurassic Park’ –– signed on to reunite with the director.
In the spirit of the rest of the movie, we don’t know what roles that ensemble will be taking, as the only concrete information appears to be a plan to shoot next spring in the tax break-friendly state of Georgia.
This is what Blunt had to say about meeting the director and landing the role:
“We start in February, and that’s all I can tell you. I was so awestruck to even get the call. And then in the meeting, he goes, ‘Would you like to know why you’re here?’ And I was like, ‘Yes please.’ I was trying not to dork out and just talk to him about endless scenes from ‘Jaws’ that I’ve been obsessed with for years. He’s really magical. I’m very happy.”
What else is Steven Spielberg developing?
(L to R) Gabriel LaBelle and co-writer/producer/director Steven Spielberg on the set of ‘The Fabelmans.’
Honestly, at this point, it’s easier to list projects that the prolific Spielberg isn’t involved with.
As producer alone, there is the next ‘Jurassic World’ movie (‘Rebirth’) headed our way next year, alongside a film about the wife of William Shakespeare called ‘Hamnet’ that stars Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley and is directed by ‘Eternals’ Chloé Zhao.
There are also the many projects on his sprawling to-do list as a director, including a new ‘Tintin’ movie, a film continuing the story of the character from ‘Bullitt,’ and one about Ulysses S. Grant.
And recent rumors have seen the director linked to an adaptation of author John Scalzi’s ‘Old Man’s War’ books, though Scalzi has warned not to get too excited about that news for now.
Where else have I seen Wyatt Russell?
Wyatt Russell in ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,’ coming soon to Apple TV+.
Russell, the son of Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, has been in movies including ‘Cowboys & Aliens,’ ‘22 Jump Street,’ ‘Everybody Wants Some!!’ ‘Overlord’ and ‘Night Swim.’
On the small screen, his roles include ‘Under the Banner of Heaven,’ ‘Lodge 49’ and ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ (in which he plays the younger version of Lee Shaw, with his dad as the elder take).
“Some secrets cannot be contained.”
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Most notably, Russell –– who lost out on playing Captain America to Chris Evans –– scored the role of John Walker/US Agent (a government-sanctioned replacement for Cap) in MCU TV series ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.’ He’ll be reprising the role for new movie ‘Thunderbolts*,’ which also features Sebastian Stan and Florence Pugh.
That Marvel movie is due on May 2nd next year.
When will Spielberg’s latest be in theaters?
(L to R) Rita Moreno and director Steven Spielberg on the set of ‘West Side Story’. Photo: Walt Disney Studios.
Universal and Amblin Entertainment have handed the movie a May 15th, 2026, release date, setting it squarely in the summer blockbuster territory that Spielberg himself helped establish way back in the 1970s with the likes of ‘Jaws.’
It means Spielberg will be filling one of that year’s summer slots alongside Nolan’s new project (headed our way on July 17th) and –– assuming he sets a release date –– Abrams.
(L to R) Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg arrive on the red carpet at the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards, airing live from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday, January 7, 2024, at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT, on CBS and streaming on Paramount+. Photo: Trae Patton/CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.