Wes Anderson’s 'The French Dispatch' No Longer Musical, but Still Super Wes Anderson-y

At this point, what else is there to say about Wes Anderson. After launching himself (and a the famous brotherly duo of Luke and Owen Wilson) to indie stardom in the 1990s with (the now culturally appreciated) Bottle Rocket, Anderson has built a steady career of creating exotically located passion projects with all-star casts every three years or so.

Now, fresh off the heels of his most recent stop-motion Japanese-homaged dog picture Isle of Dogs, Anderson is once again rounding up his famous troops for his tenth feature. Here’s everything we know so far.

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Wes Anderson’s New Movie

First reported by Indiewire, the famous auteur’s next film will be titled The French Dispatch. Originally reported to be a “French musical” that concept has apparently been dropped, but the film will still be live action and set in France. According to Indiewire, which reports the following: 

“The French Dispatch” is a love letter to journalists set at an outpost of an American newspaper in 20th-century Paris and centers on three storylines.”

Which just sounds downright Wes Anderson-y to the T, hitting all his usual thematic marks.

Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet Attached

To go along with reports of a name being confirmed, several Hollywood A-listers have already been attached to the project, with Anderson obviously tabbed to write and direct (although he historically has collaborated with friends like Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman on screenplays in the past). Here are the reported stars attached (so far).

• Bill Murray (duh)

• Frances McDormand

• Tilda Swinton

• Benicio del Toro

• Jeffrey Wright

• Timothée Chalamet

With Brad Pitt, Natalie Portman, and Léa Seydoux rumored, but unconfirmed, as well.

The Wes Anderson Film Style

For filmmaking fans of Wes Anderson, it’s hard to not see Anderson’s style become a huge part of the cinematic lexicon over the years. Here at No Film School, we’ve broken down everything from his use of compositional symmetry to how he uses sound in the edit and even how he breaks down his characters.

Whether you’re interested in parodying his style or homaging his color palette in your own, this new feature looks to be another indie classic which will undoubtedly bring us more insights into the pastiched and stylized world of Wes Anderson.