Guy Ritchie’s next movie, “Wife and Dog,” has assembled an impressive cast featuring MCU stars and a James Bond actor. The director of “The Gentlemen” is setting this new project against the backdrop of the British aristocracy. While the plot remains under wraps for now, Ritchie will pen the screenplay and produce the film alongside his regular collaborators Ivan Atkinson and John Friedberg of Black Bear.
It reports that Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch (known for “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and “Sherlock”), two-time Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins (from the “Thor” movie series and “The Silence of the Lambs”), and Oscar nominee Rosamund Pike (from “Die Another Day” and “Gone Girl”) are set to star in “Wife and Dog.” Executive produced by Teddy Schwarzman and Michael Heimler, the film, which will explore the cutthroat world of the British upper class, is slated to begin production in February 2025.
What does this casting update mean for “Wife and Dog”? It was announced in May 2024 that the film was in development with the promise of an A-list cast. Six months later, that pledge was fulfilled with this initial lineup of three Oscar-caliber stars. Ritchie has already worked with Pike in an upcoming movie called “In the Grey,” which also has a star-studded cast including Henry Cavill and Jake Gyllenhaal. So, “Wife and Dog” follows the trend set by Ritchie and Atkinson in their Black Bear projects of casting top-tier actors for lead roles.
This casting news indicates significant progress behind the scenes, and more names are likely to be announced in the coming months. However, no character details have been provided, so it’s unclear what parts each actor will play. While the plot details are unknown to the public, the movie will deal with class and revisit the world seen in Ritchie’s Netflix series “The Gentlemen”. There’s no release date set yet.
Our take on “Wife and Dog” is that it taps into a familiar world. “The Gentlemen” presented the British aristocratic world in a fresh, grittier way compared to traditional portrayals like “Downton Abbey”. The title of Ritchie’s 18th film suggests a similar approach, which is exciting. Cumberbatch, Hopkins, and Pike have all played noble roles before. It’ll be interesting to see how they’ll fit into Ritchie’s vision for this film as production moves forward and more details emerge.
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