It appears that Kristen Wiig is set for the female lead in Alexander Payne‘s upcoming social satire Downsizing. Wiig will replace role originally earmarked for Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon (who memorably starred in Payne’s Election and earned a Golden Globe nod in the process) and will co-star opposite Matt Damon – both Damon and Wiig appeared (though didn’t share any scenes) in last year’s science fiction blockbuster The Martian. Witherspoon had to drop out due to scheduling restrictions. Deadline broke the story.
Downsizing, which Payne scripted with Jim Taylor (the duo won Oscars for writing the 2004 comedy Sideways), is a social satire in which an Omaha man decides to undergo a process that shrinks people way down from their normal size. In the context of the film, many others have already taken part in the process and built up tiny communities throughout the world. The ensemble cast in shaping up to be quite large (no pun intended) and will include Wiig’s fellow SNL alum Jason Sudeikis, Alec Baldwin (Concussion), Udo Kier (Melancholia), Hong Chau (Inherent Vice), Neil Patrick Harris (Gone Girl) and two-time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained).
Wiig, who earned an Oscar nomination for co-penning the 2011 comedy Bridesmaids, most recently appeared in Zoolander 2 and will next be seen on screen in the highly anticipated all-female reboot of Ghostbusters. She also provided her vocals to the upcoming raunchy animated feature Sausage Party, co-stars in the omnibus film The Heyday of the Insensitive Bastards and co-stars in the delayed comedy Masterminds. In recent years, Wiig has proven adept at both comedic and dramatic roles exhibiting a range in an eclectic mixture of movies including Welcome to Me, The Diary of a Teenage Girl and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.
Downsizing looks to start filming later this spring and will be released by Paramount Pictures.
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