Darren Aronofsky’s highly-anticipated next film will arrive before the end of the year, it has been revealed.
There’s a lot to look forward to when it comes to the upcoming release of Darren Aranofsky’s The Whale. The film is a significant release from A24, the indie studio who rarely put a foot wrong whilst always showcasing films rich in ideas. It marks the next film helmed by Darren Aronofsky, who tends to be one of cinema’s most compelling voices. And then there’s Brendan Fraser.
Fraser has had a tough time over the past few years but is on the comeback trail. That comeback was slightly derailed by the cancellation of Batgirl in which he played a key role, but the actor’s next two projects will hopefully put him squarely back in contention for leading roles where he undoubtedly belongs. Not only will he feature in Martin Scorsese’s upcoming Flowers Of The Killer Moon but he also plays the lead role in The Whale.
Darren Aronofsky’s resume has also been quiet over the past few years. The filmmaker hasn’t helmed a film since 2017’s mother!, a biblically-driven surrealist nightmare that divided audiences and critics. It was always going to be a toss-up as to whether Aronofsky responded to the criticism of mother! by reverting to a more mainstream style as he has in the past with films like Noah, or whether he would continue to push in stranger directions.
The answer seems to be a new direction for the director which Vanity Fair is describing as a ‘stage-style’ film. The plot for The Whale follows ‘a reclusive English teacher who, weighing in at 600 pounds, lives marooned on a couch. Redemption may be within reach as he tries to reconnect with his estranged, sharp-tongued daughter, played by the brilliant Sadie Sink from Stranger Things.’
Fraser talks in the piece about his reasoning for taking the project, saying: “If there’s no risk, then why bother? I want to learn from the people I’m working with at this point in my career. I’ve had such variety, a lot of high highs and low lows, so what I’m keen for, in the second half of my time doing this, is to feel like I’m contributing to the craft and I’m learning from it. This is a prime opportunity. I wanted to disappear into it. My hope was that I would become unrecognisable. I wanted to know what I was capable of.”
We’d recommend giving the Vanity Fair piece a couple of minutes of your time as it goes deeply into the mindset of Fraser and Aronofsky whilst they were making the movie. Also, hopefully we will get to see a trailer pretty soon given it has now been announced that the film will be premiering on December 9th in cinemas in the US. Hopefully, a UK release will happen at the same time and we’ll be counting down the days for this one.
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