Control: James McAvoy’s psychological thriller starts production with newly announced cast

Last Updated on June 3, 2024

Studiocanal and The Picture Company’s new psychological thriller Control is starting up production with its star James McAvoy. Deadline has also revealed the list of actors that will be rounding out the cast for the film. Julianne Moore has been added to the film, starring opposite McAvoy. In addition to McAvoy and Moore, Sarah Bolger, who is known for A Good Woman Is Hard To Find, joins the cast, along with Nick Mohammed from Ted Lasso, Jenna Coleman, whose credits include The Sandman, Rudi Dharmalingam, known for Role Play, Kyle Soller of the Disney+ show Andor, plus August Diehl and Martina Gedeck. The film will be directed by Robert Schwentke, whose resume includes the Bruce Willis action comedy Red.

The synopsis (per Deadline) reads,
“Control is based on the podcast from Zack Akers and Skip Bronkie. The film revolves around a troubled doctor who wakes up one morning to the sound of a mysterious voice in his head. With his reality now in question, the voice makes a series of escalating demands he must follow or devastating consequences will unfold.” It is known that Julianne Moore’s character is a mysterious presence that McAvoy’s character, Doctor Conway, must contend with. The additional announcements of the crew include director of photography Roman Vasyanov (Fury), and BAFTA-nominated editor Sven Budelmann (All Quiet On The Western Front). Costumes in this film are to be designed by prolific costume designer Mona May (Clueless), with casting by Reg Poerscout-Edgerton and Lillie Jeffrey (Rocketman).

Control will be marking the fifth film Studiocanal and The Picture Company have shot in Berlin in conjunction with Studio Babelsberg. The Picture Company has partnered together producers Andrew Rona and Alex Heineman. They will produce the film under their long-term overall deal with the production company Studiocanal. Luc Etienne will serve on board as executive producer. Ron Halpern and Shana Eddy are to oversee the project for Studiocanal.

McAvoy can also be seen in the upcoming Speak No Evil. The psychological thriller is a remake of the 2022 Danish film of the same name and stars James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, and Scoot McNairy. It centers on an American family who are invited to spend the weekend at the idyllic country estate of a charming British family they befriended on vacation, but what begins as a dream holiday soon warps into a snarled psychological nightmare. The film is slated to hit theaters on September 13th.