Highly-regarded UK stars Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz are joining the cast of Oscar-nominated Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos’ English language movie debut, The Lobster, as the lead characters. The released summary reveals an unconventional love story set in the dystopian future in which finding a partner is a matter of life or death.
Farrell and Weisz will join the cast of Ben Whishaw (Skyfall‘s Q), Lea Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Color), Olivia Colman (Hyde Park on Hudson), Ariane Labed (Before Midnight), and Aggeliki Papoulia (who worked with Lantahmos on his previous projects Alps and Dogtooth). Other roles in the supporting cast are still being finalized.
Farrell was most recently seen as P.L Travers’s alcoholic father in Disney’s Saving Mr Banks, and is the lead protagonist of the Akiva Goldsman’s upcoming film Winter’s Tale. In addition, he just finished filming Miss Julie, co-starring with Jessica Chastain under director Liv Ullmann, and Solace, co-starring with Anthony Hopkins under the direction of Afonso Poyart.
Weisz won an Oscar and Golden Globe for The Constant Gardener and has also been in box office blockbusters like The Mummy with Brendan Fraiser and The Bourne Legacy with Jeremy Renner. She was also the main antagonist in the 2013 prequel Oz: Oz The Great and Powerful with James Franco.
Of the new cast, Lanthimos said, “I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to work with such great actors. Their contribution to our film will enrich and expand the world we are trying to create and explore. Furthermore our team of old and new collaborators makes me very confident and excited to start making this film.”
The movie is scheduled to begin shooting March 24 in Ireland.