The king of quirky has returned, with the debut trailer of Wes Anderson’s newest film, The French Dispatch, dropping this morning. This marks the director’s first live action film in nearly six years, his last release being 2014’s The Grand Budapest Hotel.
The trailer showcases the film’s extremely star-studded ensemble cast, including Anderson veterans Billy Murray, Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand, Jeff Goldblum, Lea Seydoux, among others, in addition to Elisabeth Moss, Timothee Chalamet, Jefferey Wright, and Benicio Del Toro.
Searchlight Pictures’ official synopsis for the film declares it “a love letter for journalists,” detailing three stories “set at an outpost of an American newspaper in a fictional 20th-century French city.” Fans of Budapest should find delight in Dispatch‘s equally fictional/historical mode of storytelling, including the film’s namesake referencing a physical book of tales dictating its storylines.
Anderson has acknowledged the confusing aspect of the film’s multiple storylines, stating to French magazine Charente Libre last April that “the story is not easy to explain.” The director continued, “[It’s about an] American journalist based in France [who] creates his magazine. It is more a portrait of this man, of this journalist who fights to write what he wants to write.”
The film additionally features A-listers behind the camera as well, with Roman Coppola and frequent Anderson collaborator Jason Schwartzman helping to pen the script. Robert Yeoman, who scored an Oscar nomination for Budapest, will return as cinematographer.
The French Dispatch hits theaters July 24, 2020.