Wes Anderson Reunites With Bill Murray & Benicio Del Toro for Next Movie, Michael Cera Also Set to Star

Wes Anderson is reuniting with Bill Murray and Benicio Del Toro for his next feature, with Michael Cera also set to star. This will mark the Barbie actor’s first time working under Anderson’s direction. The film, the title of which is yet to be released, is scheduled to commence production later this year, Deadline reports. Anderson and frequent collaborator Roman Coppola have co-written the upcoming project. Anderson and Coppola first worked together on 2004’s The Life Acquatic with Zissou, and expanded their partnership through joint efforts on The Darjeeling Limited, Moonrise Kingdom, the animated feature Isle of Dogs, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The French Dispatch, and Asteroid City.

News of Del Toro and Cera’s starring roles in the film is no surprise, as Anderson previously confirmed their participation. During a 2023 interview, ahead of the release of his anthology adaptation of Roald Dahl’s short story collection The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More, which featured three shorts for Netflix, Aderson shared:

“Well, before the Writer’s Guild strike began, we had just finished a script. Roman Coppola and I had been working on a script. So, when the time is right again, we’ve got a movie to make with Benicio Del Toro.”

When asked if there were any actors he had never worked with that he would like to collaborate with on future projects, the Academy Award-nominated filmmaker shared:

“Well, you know, we have Michael Cera. He’s one of the other characters in this new story. And he’s somebody I probably met, I think, close to 20 years ago. At least 18 years ago, something like that. I met him with Harvey Keitel, so it must have been 2008 or something. But, anyway, Michael Cera. That’s one.”

During the interview, he said he did not want to yet reveal the project’s name.

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Bill Murray & Wes Anderson Reunite After The French Dispatch

While Murray’s participation in Anderson’s upcoming project is breaking news, it’s not surprising given the two men’s extensive list of collaborations. Anderson and Murray first joined forces for 1998’s Rushmore. The critically lauded film earned Anderson and Murray awards at the 1999 Independent Spirit Awards (for Best Director and Best Supporting Male, respectively). His portrayal of quirky industrialist Herman Blume also earned Murray a Golden Globe nod for Best Supporting Actor.

Rushmore marked the beginning of a notable partnership, as Murray went on to appear in 2001’s The Royal Tenenbaums, 2004’s The Life Acquatic with Zissou, 2007’s The Darjeeling Limited, 2009’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, 2012’s Moonrise Kingdom, 2014’s The Grand Budapest, 2018’s Isle of Dogs, and 2021’s The French Dispatch. However, Murray did not appear in Anderson’s last film, the Palme d’Or nominated Asteroid City.

While Del Toro’s history with Anderson is nowhere near as rich as Murray’s, he starred in 2021’s The French Dispatch as imprisoned artist Moses Rosenthaler (Murray appeared in the film as Arthur Howitzer Jr., the editor of the French Dispatch).

No plot details have been released for Anderson’s upcoming movie, but the project is expected to go into production this year.