Outside the MCU/DCU bubble, has there been a more rumored film than Paul Thomas Anderson’s next one? From the title to the plot to the release date to the budget, we’re all in the dark, and relying on second-hand information to figure it all out.
Anderson has finally, sort of, come out of the shadows, but he’s still being all cryptic on us. The L.A. Times decided to email the filmmaker and ask him firsthand about his new film, but his answer was of no help. He’s keeping his cards close to his chest and instead offering an amusing response:
I need to start figuring out what the f— to say.
Yes, you should. One thing’s for certain, we know who stars in the film, and that’s Leonardo DiCaprio. He’s joined by an ensemble that includes Regina Hall, Chase Infiniti, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Wood Harris, Teyana Taylor, and Alana Haim.
The film might be called “The Battle of Baktan Cross,” or maybe it’s “One Battle After Another,” we don’t really know. It could also be a loose adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s “Vineland” which Anderson has namechecked over the years as a novel he’s attempted to transcribe to the screen.
The budget was originally announced as $110M, but the figure keeps going up and it’s now a real possibility that it could be anywhere between $140M to $175M. The release date is also up in flux; Based on sources, it’s certainly not keeping its August 8, 2025 date, but will it come out earlier or later in the year. Hell, Puck’s Matt Belloni recently claimed it was moved to 2026.
You see what I’m saying? There have been no answers to our questions. It’s all speculation. Maybe it is indeed time for Anderson to start figuring out “what the f*ck to say.”