There’s clearly some major reshuffling going on when it comes to Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride,” and I’ll get to the other stuff in a minute.
First off, it looks like Johnny Greenwood (“There Will Be Blood”) will no longer be composing the score for Gyllenhaal’s semi-musical. Greenwood’s out, and being replaced by Hildur Guðnadóttir, a talented musician, but one who is sadly coming off last year’s “Joker: Folie à Deux.”
No reason seems to have been given for Greenwood’s departure, but it’s just the latest development in what’s been a tumultuous last few months for Gyllenhaal’s film. This film can’t catch a break, but don’t tell that to Warner co-CEO Pam Abdy, who recently blamed the bad buzz on sexism.
I recently flagged that “The Bride!” wasn’t exactly killing it in test screenings, and Puck confirmed my reporting soon after, while also scratching their heads over how exactly Gyllenhaal, whose directorial résumé includes precisely one movie, managed to convince Warners to bankroll her $100 million gothic musical passion project.
The film, shot in New York, is reportedly struggling to strike the right balance. Abdy was apparently tasked to try to whip the movie into shape, and word is she’s having a hard time of it.
Gyllenhaal’s last film, “The Lost Daughter,” was a critical darling and nabbed her a Venice screenplay award, along with three Oscar nominations. So naturally, she was expected to bring “The Bride!” to Venice this fall, but then Warners delayed its October release to a more suspicious March 2026 unveiling.
The cast is stacked—Peter Sarsgaard, Christian Bale, Jessie Buckley, Annette Bening, Penélope Cruz, John Mulaney, and Jake Gyllenhaal—and it’s loosely riffing on Bride of Frankenstein (1935), the sequel to the classic Frankenstein.
Following “Air,” this is Affleck’s latest stint behind the camera. He has cast himself in the lead role, alongside Kerry Washington, Steven Yeun, and Gillian Anderson (“The X-Files”).