We’ve been following the progress of the darkly comedic psychological thriller The Menu for over three years now, as the project first caught our attention when Alexander Payne was going to direct, Will Ferrell was among the producers, and Emma Stone was going to star. Payne and Stone eventually left over scheduling issues and Ferrell stepped away, but The Menu was completed with Mark Mylod (Ali G Indahouse) directing and Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch) in the lead role. Searchlight Pictures will be giving the film a theatrical release on November 18th, and now the marketing has begun with the unveiling of a teaser trailer that you can watch in the embed above.
Scripted by Will Tracy (Last Week with John Oliver) and Seth Reiss (Late Night with Seth Meyers), The Menu is set
in the world of eccentric culinary culture, centering on a young couple who visit an exclusive restaurant on a remote island where an acclaimed chef has prepared a lavish tasting menu, with some shocking surprises.
Taylor-Joy is joined in the cast by Ralph Fiennes (No Time to Die), Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road), Hong Chau (Downsizing), Janet McTeer (Tumbleweeds), John Leguizamo (George A. Romero’s Land of the Dead), Judith Light (Who’s the Boss?), Aimee Carrero (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power), Reed Birney (The Hunt), Paul Adelstein (Intolerable Cruelty), Rob Yang (Succession), Arturo Castro (Mr. Corman), Mark St. Cyr (High School Musical: The Series), Rebecca Koon (Sharp Objects), Peter Grosz (At Home with Amy Sedaris), and Christina Brucato (Orange Is the New Black).
Taylor-Joy and Hoult play a couple named Margot and Tyler, while Fiennes’ character is Chef Slowik. Chau plays Elsa, McTeer is food critic Lillian Bloom, Leguizamo’s character is called Movie Star, Light is Anne, Carrero is Felicity, Birney is Richard, Yang is Bryce, Castro is Soren, St. Cyr is Dave, Koon is Linda, and Grosz is the Sommelier. Adelstein is “Lillian’s editor, who has accompanied her on this culinary experience; agreeing with anything and everything she says.” Brucato’s character is “Katherine, who is the direct and politely outspoken sous chef working for Chef Slowik.”
Chef Slowik is a “globally-celebrated chef” who has developed this “eccentric culinary event” and “has added a few secret, and potentially nefarious, ingredients to his extravagant menu.” Three-time Michelin-starred chef Dominique Crenn is the film’s Chief Technical Consultant, helping the crafts team create the on-screen cuisine.
The Menu was produced by Adam McKay (Ferrell’s former producing partner) and Betsy Koch through their company Hyperobject Industries. Searchlight’s SVP Production DanTram Nguyen and director of production Zahra Phillips oversaw the project for the studio.
What do you think of the teaser trailer for The Menu? Will you be watching this movie later this year? Let us know by leaving a comment below.