It’s been more than a year since veteran visionary filmmaker Sam Mendes’ 1917 quite literally exploded onto the scene and nearly took home Best Picture at the 92nd Academy Awards. Now, he’s gearing up to make his next feature film, and he’s enlisting the help of both Searchlight Pictures and Olivia Colman too.
According to Deadline, the Academy Award winner is looking to direct an original love story that he wrote titled, Empire of Light. Set in 1980s England, the film is set to revolve around an old movie theater.
While Colman hasn’t officially nabbed the lead role, she’s currently being courted to star. If she does appear in the film, this will mark her first appearance in a Searchlight film since 2018’s The Favourite, for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress. She’s currently nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her work in The Father.
Conversely, this is Mendes’ first time working with Searchlight, let alone Disney. His previous projects have been produced and/or distributed by Dreamworks (American Beauty), Universal (1917), and Sony (Skyfall).
Additionally, Mendes is looking to re-team with Roger Deakins, who just won his second Oscar (in less than 3 years) for his work on 1917.
Source: Deadline
