Ari Aster, the visionary director behind Hereditary and Midsommar, is expanding his creative horizons. While his next directorial effort remains under wraps, he's lending his producing prowess to a new project that's already generating buzz. The Confessions, a "cautionary psycho-dramedy" from Canadian filmmakers Guy Maddin, Galen Johnson, and Evan Johnson, has just locked in a stellar cast, including two actors beloved by genre fans.
According to Variety, Maya Hawke (known for Stranger Things) and Harry Melling (who played Dudley Dursley in the Harry Potter films) will headline the movie alongside Alexander Skarsgård and Hunter Schafer. This quartet brings a mix of indie credibility and mainstream appeal, making The Confessions one of the most intriguing projects on the horizon.
Hawke is currently riding high on the success of Stranger Things and is set to appear in the upcoming Hunger Games prequel, Sunrise on the Reaping. Melling, who has transitioned from child star to acclaimed character actor, recently earned raves for his role in Pillion, which also starred Skarsgård. Skarsgård is currently on the big screen in the wild fairy tale Wicker, while Schafer returned to HBO's Euphoria for its final season and will soon be seen in Blade Runner 2099.
While plot details are scarce, the official synopsis describes The Confessions as following "a group of condemned nuns bearing witness to the accursed, globe-spanning love triangle of a missing sea captain and his poet wife." It's a premise that sounds perfectly in line with Maddin and the Johnsons' surreal, often darkly comic sensibilities, as seen in their previous film, Rumors, which premiered at Cannes.
Aster, who is producing through his Square Peg banner alongside Lars Knudsen, is clearly thrilled to be involved. "I have long been a devoted fan of the great Canadian wizard, Guy Maddin, and his equally brilliant partners, Evan and Galen Johnson," he said in a statement. "They stand humongously tall among my favorite filmmakers in the world, and The Confessions is as singular and beguiling as anything they’ve ever written."
This project marks another exciting chapter for Aster, who has consistently pushed boundaries since his debut with Hereditary in 2018. That film, featuring a career-best performance from Toni Collette, is now considered a modern horror classic. His follow-up, Midsommar, cemented his reputation as a master of unsettling, folk-inflected terror. While his later works, Beau Is Afraid and Eddington, have divided audiences, they've only added to his mystique as a filmmaker who refuses to play it safe.
For fans of Harry Potter and Stranger Things, seeing Hawke and Melling team up is a treat. Both actors have proven they can handle complex, offbeat material, making them perfect fits for the Maddin-Johnson aesthetic. With Skarsgård and Schafer rounding out the cast, The Confessions is shaping up to be a must-watch for cinephiles.
As production gears up, stay tuned for more updates on this intriguing collaboration. In the meantime, you can catch Skarsgård in Wicker and revisit the twisted worlds of Ari Aster's previous films.
