Wes Anderson is one of the most important filmmakers alive today, having produced an extensive and impressive catalog of projects for over 25 years. For his most recent film, The Phoenician Scheme, Anderson has once again paired up with Focus Features – who have distributed his work in the past – and set a release date for its theatrical debut.

Per Variety, Focus Features has landed the worldwide distribution rights to The Phoenician Scheme – nothing new, seeing as they have distributed two of Anderson’s most commercially successful films, Moonrise Kingdom – written by Anderson in collaboration with Roman Coppola – and Asteroid City. Released in 2012, Moonrise Kingdom grossed $68 million and was nominated for a Best Screenplay Academy Award. Asteroid City, the most recent of Anderson’s feature films, was released in 2023 and raked in nearly $54 million at the box office. In the age of superheroes and billion-dollar blockbusters, this may not seem like much, but for its category of arthouse cinema, they were both successful.

Coppola and Anderson collaborated once again in penning the script for The Phoenician Scheme. The film stars Benicio del Toro, known for his roles in films like The Usual Suspects and Wes Anderson’s own The French Dispatch in which he played incarcerated artist Moses Rosenthaler. In The Phoenician Scheme, del Toro plays Zsa-zsa Korda, a European man of wealth, while Mia Threapleton plays his daughter – in real life, she is Kate Winslet's daughter. Arrested Development and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World alum Michael Cera will play Threapleton's tutor. The star-studded cast also includes Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Riz Ahmed, Mathieu Amalric, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Richard Ayoade, Rupert Friend, Hope Davis, and Benedict Cumberbatch.

A deeply impressive cast is a trademark of Anderson's films, having worked with the who's-who of Hollywood, often repeatedly. Among his frequent collaborators are Willem Dafoe, Bill Murray, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, Tilda Swinton, and more. Another key aspect of his work is a hyper-stylized and seriously bright aesthetic. From the highly saturated colors, to the mechanical, steady, and calculated camera movements, each film of his feels like a dream of sorts. It could be said that his star-studding proclivities enhance this effect, as some of the most talented and recognized actors of their time aid in the fulfillment of Anderson's vision.

Many fans of the auteur's work saw Asteroid City as a tasteful ode to his own work, doubling down on all the elements that have made him successful. Between that, and last year's short film The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar which earned Anderson an Oscar, it seemed that the director had sort of reached a peak. It will be thrilling to see what's next when he brings The Phoenician Scheme to the table.

The film will enjoy an early release on May 30, 2025, before going wide on June 6.

Source: Variety