Celine Song Preps Next Movie ‘Materialists’: Pedro Pascal, Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans In Talks
Celine Song made a great impression in 2023 with her feature debut Past Lives, which earned a few Oscar nominations and was included in most people’s top movies of the year lists. She’s now prepping her next feature, for which she’s teaming up again with A24: a romantic comedy titled Materialists.
According to Variety, it’s already attracted the interest of several stars, including Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal. Shooting is set for May, which means a Sundance debut seems likely — and that I should take this off my anticipated 2024 movies list.
Per World of Reel, this is the synopsis for the film:
Set against the vibrant backdrop of New York City, a city that never sleeps and is known for its diverse and dynamic relationships, “Materialists” provides a unique glimpse into the lives of the city’s elite. Lucy’s expertise in matchmaking is highly sought after by those willing to pay a premium for her services. However, the film hints at complications that arise, leading to a toxic love triangle that threatens to unravel the lives of all involved.
European distribution rights for the film will be auctioned at the upcoming Berlin Film Festival. Deadline is also hearing this is a very hot package that has several interested parties buzzing.
The cast list is certainly interesting. Dakota Johnson is about to go on another career apology tour as she sees the writing on the wall on the upcoming Madame Web, which she leads for Sony. She changed agencies a few months ago, probably hoping to get cast in more projects like this. She was also a part of Cooper Raiff’s Cha Cha Real Smooth, which made a huge impression in Sundance 2022 but was instantly forgotten once it was added to Apple TV Plus. (It ranked #2 on my movies of that year, though.)
Then there’s Chris Evans, who hit rock bottom in 2023 with two giant misfires in Ghosted and Pain Hustlers. He’s also looking to climb out of that well, and doing an independent movie with the town’s latest hot director is certainly something he should be on his knees for.
As far as Pedro Pascal goes, is anyone surprised to see his name on any new project that gets announced anymore? A few months ago, when his name first popped up for Fantastic Four, the issue was with his schedule for this year and how complicated it was to squeeze in a Marvel movie there. Yet since then, he’s joined Ari Aster’s Eddington (though that’s still rumored) and now Materialists. I mean, good for him! At the same time, I hope he gets some serious rest after all of this is done. He’s in this month’s Drive-Away Dolls and will also be appearing in this November’s Gladiator 2.
After Materialists, Celine Song apparently has her next project lined up already at Searchlight Pictures, according to TheInSneider.com. Materialists was once supposed to start shooting last September, but they decided to wait for the SAG-AFTRA strike to be over, even though they’d received a go-ahead from the guild.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
