Australian director David Michôd, whose last film was 2019’s “The King,” is back in the crime genre, although it doesn’t seem to resemble his “Animal Kingdom” one bit, rather, it’s a pitch black stoner comedy.
Back in July 2023, I had posted a reaction for Michôd and A24’s stoner comedy “Wizards!” The person who saw it was thoroughly repulsed by the film. Supposedly, there’s a sh*t-eating scene that will have many people headed to the aisles.
“Wizards” wrapped production in August 2022, and ever since then has been plagued by reshoots and delays. Why can’t we just see the damn thing? I’m certainly curious. And so, I asked, and a source close to the production is telling me that Michôd is still in the editing room. It’s not coming out anytime soon.
It’s come to the point where Michôd recently shot another film, an untitled biopic, starring Sydney Sweeney, as boxer Christy Martin. Will that film be released before “Wizards”? It might even be headed to the fall fests in September.
This latest intel I gathered aligns with what one of the stars of ‘Wizards,’ Franz Rogowski, told IndieWire: that the film was being re-edited, again, and that Michôd was still trying to find the right version for his film. However, that was back in December 2023.
As far as I know, they had a version, and now they are editing a new version. They’re still looking for the right tone.
“Wizards!” (exclamation mark included) follows Pete Davidson and Rogowski as two pothead beach-bar operators who find a bag of stolen money. Their attempts to keep the money a secret start to unravel as the plot gets knottier. None other than actor Joel Edgerton gets a story credit here.
I gathered a few reactions earlier in the summer, the consensus from the test screening seemed to be split. Here’s one of the reactions:
What I saw was absolutely the most pointless film of the year. Two loser friends who bought an island resort accidentally find a duffel bag full of cash after a guest disappears mysteriously and leaves clues to an island where it’s buried. Sean Harris comes along and starts asking about any information as they try to keep it a secret, his psychotic tendencies start testing them and there is a moment where they are forced to eat shit, literal shit, a 5 minute moment of Rogowski eating a solid turd and Davidson eating liquid shit. It’s trying to be something in the vein of “The Beach Bum” and “Smiley Face” but there isn’t enough weed to save it.
“Wizards!” did not show up inside this year’s Sundance or SXSW lineups, and will likely not premiere at TIFF in September, which means we might be looking at a 2026 release for the film, or maybe beyond that. Who knows.