Shell: sexy thriller starring Elisabeth Moss and Kate Hudson has wrapped, more cast announced

Nine months ago, it was announced that Elisabeth Moss (The Invisible Man), Kate Hudson (Almost Famous), and Kaia Gerber (Babylon) had signed on to star in the “sexy psychological thriller” Shell, with Teen Spirit‘s Max Minghella directing from a screenplay written by Jack Stanley (Lou). Now production on Shell has just wrapped in Los Angeles, and along with the end of filming comes to the reveal that Moss, Hudson, and Gerber are joined in the cast by Arian Moayed (Succession), musician and composer Este Haim (Licorice Pizza), Lionel Boyce (The Bear), author/comedian Ziwe (ZIWE), Amy Landecker (Transparent), Peter MacNicol (Ally McBeal), Blake Lee (Cruel Summer), Dustin Milligan (Schitt’s Creek), Peri Gilpin (Frasier), and Mary Lynn Rajskub (24).

Shell is “set in a near future, when humanity’s cultural obsession with youth and beauty has been taken to new extremes“. Here’s the synopsis: Struggling actress Samantha (Elisabeth Moss) is given an opportunity to get a free trial at Shell, a pioneering health and beauty company which promises to keep its clients looking young forever. Samantha’s life and career is transformed by the treatment, and she develops a burgeoning friendship with Shell’s CEO, the ultra-glamorous Zoe Shannon (Kate Hudson). When a string of former Shell patients go missing under mysterious circumstances, including popular social media star Chloe Benson (Kaia Gerber), Samantha starts to fear she may be in danger herself.

Dark Castle Entertainment provided the financing for Shell. Elisabeth Moss and Lindsey McManus are producing Shell for Love & Squalor Pictures. Also producing the film are Range’s Fred Berger and Brian Kavanaugh, Blank Tape’s Max Minghella, Hal Sadoff and Norman Golightly of Dark Castle, and Alicia Van Couvering. Jamie Bell and Jack Stanley serve as executive producers. A press release informs us, “Black Bear is representing the international rights and will be distributing directly in the UK and Ireland. CAA Media Finance and WME Independent are co-repping the domestic rights.”

When the project was first announced, Minghella had this to say about it: “Shell packs a wildly entertaining genre movie with iconic characters and universal themes that are bound to have people talking long after they leave the theater. I’m so thrilled to be bringing it to life with this extraordinary cast and the incredible support of Black Bear International, Love & Squalor and Range.“

Moss added: “This is one of the most unique, entertaining and special scripts I’ve ever read and I am so honored to be a part of it as an actor and flattered that Max came to me with this character, who’s unlike anyone I’ve ever played before. Having worked with Max for years on The Handmaid’s Tale, I’m so thrilled to now be directed by him as I’m a huge fan of his as a filmmaker. We at Love & Squalor are also excited to be working alongside Range and Black Bear, two companies we very much admire.“

I haven’t seen Minghella’s feature directorial debut Teen Spirit, but the cast he has assembled for Shell is enough to sell me on his second feature. I look forward to seeing how this one has turned out.

Are you interested in Shell? What do you think of the cast Minghella brought together? Let us know by leaving a comment below.