A24 is collaborating once again with Dream Scenario director Kristoffer Borgli, with Zendaya and Robert Pattinson on board for The Drama.
There was plenty of critical acclaim for Kristoffer Borgli’s 2023 offbeat drama Dream Scenario. The film starred Nicolas Cage as a college professor who becomes a global celebrity when he starts appearing in everybody’s dreams across the globe. The film possessed that trademark unconventionality that we’ve come to expect from A24 films and scored some good reviews too.
As such – despite publicly expressing a desire to movie its projects further into the mainstream – there was always a chance that A24 would want to be involved in Borgli’s next project. It looks like the studio will get to have its cake and eat it, given that the filmmaker is set to sign up two major names for his next film, simply titled The Drama.
Zendaya and Robert Pattinson are said to be in negotiations to lead the film, which is set to be a romance story that ‘moves in an unexpected direction.’
We can only imagine what that might be. As with Dream Scenario, Borgli has penned the script himself.
Read more: Dream Scenario | An ingenious comedy that perfectly sends up an era of memes and internet fame
While we’re sure that the duo will be right for the director’s vision, the casting of Zendaya and Pattinson (as reported by Deadline) also feels particularly astute for A24. After all, both are mainstream stars, headlining huge superhero franchises while also possessing heavyweight dramatic credentials: Zendaya was the name on which Luca Guadagnino’s artsy drama Challengers was marketed this year, while Pattinson built the post-Twilight phase of his career of the back of work with acclaimed indie directors such as Claire Denis and the Safdie brothers.
Ari Aster, Lars Knudsen and Tyler Campellone will produce under their Square Peg banner. Previous collaborations between the two companies have brought us some remarkable films, including Hereditary, Midsommar, the aforementioned Dream Scenario – not to mention upcoming projects such as Death of a Unicorn starring Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega and Eddington starring Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal and Emma Stone.
Deals are yet to close with the two stars, but getting those two names on the dotted line will be a major priority for A24. Zendaya is one of the starring faces of the Dune and Spider-Man franchises while Pattinson is the incumbent Batman for Warner Bros. That’s a lot of pre-exposure for this project that the studio will want to draw on as it looks to continue raising its profile. We’ll bring you more on this one as we hear it.
