The first teaser for Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme was screened at CinemaCon, alongside first-looks at Downtown Abbey 3 & more
The Universal Pictures presentation at CinemaCon is well underway, and the studio took some time to focus on a few of its projects coming from Focus Features, including the first trailer for Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme.
The first trailer, shot in 1:33:1, stars Benicio del Toro as an infamous businessman involved in international intrigue with assassins out to kill him. But after surviving his sixth plane crash, he names his daughter, who is a nun, as his successor. Mia Threapleton plays the daughter, and Michael Cera also stars. The rest of the ensemble cast, which includes Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Scarlett Johansson, Jeffrey Wright, Riz Ahmed, Richard Ayoade, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rupert Friend, Mathieu Amalric, Hope Davis, and more, are supporting.
Anderson wrote and directed The Phoenician Scheme based on a story he originated with Roman Coppola. The film will see a limited release on May 30th, followed by a wide release on June 6th.
A short teaser for Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bugonia was also screened. It featured Jesse Plemons as a beekeeper who is so obsessed with saving the environment that he kidnaps a rich CEO, played by Emma Stone. He’s convinced that the executive is an alien intent on destroying Earth. “It all starts with something magnificent: a flower and a honey bee,” Plemons character narrates. “The workers gather pollen for the queen. The bees are dying as the workers desert the queen. The colony wastes away.” He’s then shown shaving off Stone’s hair, with the camera zooming in to show that she might not be as human as she seems. Aidan Delbis, Stavros Halkias and Alicia Silverstone also star in the movie. Lanthimos directed the film from a script by Will Tracy. Bugonia will hit theaters on November 7th.
Finally, there’s Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, which is billed as the last film of the franchise. The entire cast is back, including Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Raquel Cassidy, Brendan Coyle, Michelle Dockery, Kevin Doyle, Michael Fox, Joanne Froggatt, Paul Giamatti, Harry Hadden-Paton, Robert James-Collier, Allen Leech, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern, Sophie McShera, Lesley Nicol, Alessandro Nivola, Simon Russell Beale, Dominic West, Penelope Wilton, Arty Froushan, Joely Richardson, Paul Copley, Douglas Reith. The teaser takes place in 1930 and hints that the film is about the Crawleys coming to terms with leaving the Abbey behind. I unabashedly love Downton Abbey, so it will be hard to say goodbye. The finale is set to hit theaters on September 12th. Series creator Julian Fellowes penned the script, with Simon Curtis directing.
