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What's Next After the Oscars? Upcoming Projects of the Winners

13 February 2020, 17:23

We tell you what to expect from the brightest personalities of the film industry in 2019.

“Parasite” from South Korea was the big winner at the 2020 Oscars, becoming the first non-English-language film in history to win the statuette for Best Picture. The award for Best Director also went to Bong Joon Ho, and “Parasite” also won in the Best Original Screenplay category.

Joaquin Phoenix became the second actor to win an Oscar for his role as the Joker, and Renée Zellweger brilliantly played Hollywood star Judy Garland. Brad Pitt worked successfully with Quentin Tarantino, earning his first acting Oscar, and Laura Dern was awarded a statuette for appearing on television rather than on the big screen, as Netflix released “Marriage Story.” The Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay went to Taika Waititi, creator of the provocative “Jojo Rabbit.”

Almost all the winners are already working on new projects. Here is what to expect from the brightest personalities of the film industry in 2019.

Bong Joon Ho

In an interview with CNN, the director of “Parasite” said he has two films in the works, but gave no details. One is a South Korean film with elements of horror and action, a project Bong Joon Ho has been developing for ten years. The second is English-language and based on a 2016 CNN article about a minor incident in London. After the Oscar ceremony, the filmmaker confirmed: “Yes, I have a clear plan. I'm working again”.

Bong Joon Ho is also involved in a project based on “Parasite”: HBO has put a series based on the film into development. Bong is producing alongside another Oscar winner, Adam McKay (“Vice,” “The Big Short”). The Korean director said not all of his ideas fit into the two-hour version of “Parasite,” and perhaps they will be realized in the show, which, according to rumors, will consist of six episodes.

Details of the series' plot are not yet available, nor is the cast. According to Collider, Mark Ruffalo may get one of the lead roles, but there have been no official comments on this.

Bong Joon Ho is the producer of the series “Snowpiercer,” an adaptation of the graphic novel for which he directed the 2013 film (with Chris Evans in the lead role). The story unfolds in the near future after a cataclysm that turned Earth into a snowy desert. The survivors live on a constantly moving train, divided into carriages according to social class. The show, starring David Diggs and Jennifer Connelly, premieres May 31 on TNT.

Joaquin Phoenix

Rumors about a sequel to “Joker” remain just rumors. The next film with Joaquin Phoenix will be the drama “C'mon C'mon” from the director of “20th Century Women,” Mike Mills.

No synopsis for the film has been released yet, but it is known that Phoenix will play the uncle of a gifted and sensitive boy whose father suffers from bipolar disorder. The cast also includes Gaby Hoffmann (“Girls”) and dancer Kenneth Kent Brian (“Scream Queens”). Filming began in November of last year.

Phoenix's future plans include the western “Far Bright Star” by Casey Affleck. At the center of the plot is a squad of soldiers who must eliminate a Mexican revolutionary and come under attack in the middle of the desert.

Rumor has it that Joaquin has an offer from Disney: he is being considered for the role of Captain Hook in a new film about Peter Pan by David Lowery, director of “A Ghost Story” and “Pete's Dragon.” Tinker Bell could be played by Margot Robbie.

Renée Zellweger

After winning an Oscar for “Judy,” Zellweger does not seem to be in a hurry to get to her next set. The actress already had a substantial break: she did not appear in films from 2010 to 2016, so perhaps Renée simply wants to rest again.

“I'm not hiding anything, honestly,” Zellweger said in the autumn. “I really don't have any projects. I know Helen Fielding has written a new book about Bridget Jones. Maybe…”

Zellweger was attached to a film adaptation of Lisa Moore's book “Heft” from director Max Nichols, but nothing has been heard about the film for two years. Renée was to play the mother of a troubled teenager who cannot adapt at an expensive private school. He is helped by a reclusive professor who once taught the heroine.

Brad Pitt

It seems that in two years we may see Pitt among the Oscar contenders again. The actor rarely makes films and chooses his roles very carefully. His next film, “Babylon,” will be released on December 25, 2021, just in time for awards season.

“Babylon” is a drama by Damien Chazelle, director of “La La Land” and “Whiplash.” Little is known about the project so far: the action will take place in Hollywood in the 1920s, and Emma Stone will co-star with Pitt in the film.

In addition, Pitt is still listed as the lead in the sequel to the horror film “World War Z,” which David Fincher is supposedly going to direct. Filming was supposed to begin in the summer of 2019, but in February Paramount halted work. The project went into production back in 2013, but whether it will become reality remains unclear.

Brad is now far more active as a producer than as an actor. His company Plan B Entertainment will release the drama “Blonde” about Marilyn Monroe, starring Ana de Armas, and the comedy “Irresistible” with Steve Carell and Rose Byrne in 2020. Also in the works are a documentary about Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, who took his own life, an adaptation of the bestselling detective novel “The Mysterious Night Murder of the Dog,” and a series about Nigerian immigrants with Lupita Nyong'o.

Laura Dern

Having starred in two films nominated for Oscars, Dern will now work in more commercial cinema. Her next role is Dr. Ellie Sattler in “Jurassic World: Dominion.”

Dern first played Sattler in 1993 in Steven Spielberg's original film. In 2001 the character returned in the third installment, and now she will appear in the third film of the rebooted franchise. It is directed by Colin Trevorrow (“Jurassic World”), with Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard in the leads, and its premiere is set for June 2021. Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum will also return to their roles from Spielberg's film.

“I love Ellie, I grew up with her,” the actress said in an interview with IMDb. “She became an idol for many children and young women, she was one of the first feminists, a real tough girl on screen. It will be great to see what she's doing now.”

Taika Waititi

The writer of the best adapted screenplay is a very busy person. Waititi directs, writes and acts, and takes part in both blockbusters and modest projects.

In July, Taika will appear in Shawn Levy's comedy “Free Guy.” The lead role is played by Ryan Reynolds, whose character discovers that the world around him is part of a huge video game and that he himself is merely a supporting character in it.

Now filming is underway for “The Suicide Squad” by James Gunn (“Guardians of the Galaxy”), and Waititi will be part of it too, together with Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena and Viola Davis. The premiere of the sequel/reboot is scheduled for August 2021.

In parallel with his work for DC, Waititi continues to collaborate with Marvel. In November 2021, “Thor: Love and Thunder” will be released, the fourth film about the God of Thunder played by Chris Hemsworth. Waititi, who directed the third part, is back in the director's chair and will again play Korg. The film will also feature Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman and, according to rumors, Christian Bale.

In 2020, Waititi the director has more modest plans. In November 2019 he began filming the comedy “Next Goal Wins.” It is the real story of football coach Thomas Rongen, who in 2011 took charge of one of the weakest national teams in the world, American Samoa, and secured its first-ever win in World Cup qualifying. Michael Fassbender will play the lead role, and Elisabeth Moss and Armie Hammer also star in the film.

There is also an adaptation of the cult manga “Akira,” but the project is currently on hold. Waititi may return to it after “Thor,” no earlier than two years from now.

Yuri Shevchenko, TK Media