Damien Chazelle's golden age era feature Babylon is heating up with some enticing new cast announcements. According to THR, Olivia Wilde, Spike Jonze, Phoebe Tonkin, and Tobey Maguire have joined the cast. Not too shabby, right? They join previously announced stars Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, Diego Calva, Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li, and Katherine Waterson. Meanwhile, Max Minghella, Lukas Haas, Flea, Rory Scovel, Samara Weaving, Eric Roberts, P.J. Byrne, and Damon Gupton are also set to star.
Set in the late 1920s during Hollywood's transition from silent films to talkies, Babylon explores the rise and fall of multiple characters. Cameras are presumed to begin rolling next week, with sources close to the project calling it "The Great Gatsby on steroids."
Olivia Wilde is currently overseeing the pre-production process for her next film, Don't Worry Darling. Starring Wilde, Gemma Chan, Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Kiki Layne, and Chris Pine, the film is described as an intense 1950s crime drama. It revolves around a housewife living with her husband in a utopian experimental community who begins to worry that his glamorous company may be hiding disturbing secrets.
Jonze, known for directing several timeless music videos, also helmed the oddball films Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, and Her. Phoebe Tonkin is best known for her role as Hayley Marshall on The Originals. Currently, she's in the midst of filming the Matt Nable-directed thriller Transfusion. In the film, a former Special Forces operative is thrust into the criminal underworld to keep his only son from being taken from him. Sam Worthington will share the screen with Tonkin for that project. Lastly, Tobey Maguire will be making his in-the-flesh return to the screen for Chazelle's Babylon. His last live-action role was for Ed Zwicks' 2014 drama, Pawn Sacrifices.
With production expected to kick into gear sooner rather than later, it won't be long before we hear more about Chazelle's journey into one of Hollywood's most influential transitional periods.