Lulu Wang hasn’t helmed a film since her 2018 Sundance hit “The Farewell,” but that’s about to change very soon as she’s now set up her next feature.
She’s set to direct a live-action adaptation of Katie Kitamura’s Booker Prize–longlisted novel “Audition,” teaming with The Obamas’ Higher Ground Productions and LAIKA. Lucy Liu (“Kill Bill”) and Charles Melton (“May December”) are attached to star.
The story, published earlier this year by Riverhead Books, follows a celebrated actress living a charmed, bohemian life in Manhattan with her creative husband—until a mysterious young man shows up claiming to be her long-lost son. What starts as a misguided reunion quickly turns into a twisting thriller about identity, guilt, and the roles we play.
Wang will co-write the screenplay with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Martyna Majok (“Preparation for the Next Life”). It’ll be her sophomore vehicle after following “The Farewell.” Wang hasn’t necessarily been inactive these last seven years. Last year, she premiered her miniseries “Expats,” starring Nicole Kidman, on Prime Video.