Elizabeth Debicki is the latest addition to the cast of Christopher Nolan’s new film. Nolan is now infamous for keeping details about his projects close to the chest for as long as possible, and his latest project is no exception. Warner Bros. scheduled the movie for a July 2020 release date earlier this year, but little’s been revealed about the film since, including its title and plot. All that anyone really seems to know at the moment is that Nolan is directing from his own script and plans to shoot the tentpole in IMAX, much like he did on his last three films (The Dark Knight Rises, Interstellar, and Dunkirk).
Thankfully, the film’s casting process got underway this week, so we at least now know who will be appearing in the movie. It was only yesterday, March 19, that news broke about BlacKkKlansman star John David Washington being cast as one of the two male leads in Nolan’s new project. Shortly after, it was reported that Robert Pattinson has struck a deal to play the film’s other male lead, opposite a then-unknown actress as the female lead. Well, we now know exactly who that is.
Variety is reporting that Debicki will play the female lead in Nolan’s upcoming movie, opposite Washington as one of the male protagonists. The outlet has further confirmed the earlier report about Pattinson, who it appears will end up sharing top billing with Washington and Debicki (or vice versa).
Nolan’s movies, for all their strengths, have often been criticized for featuring subpar female protagonists in the past. By this point, the director has become notorious for making films where the female lead is either a dead wife who haunts the male protagonist in some manner (see: Memento, Inception) or a character who supports the male lead but doesn’t necessarily have an arc of her own (see: Batman Begins and, again, Inception). That’s not to say the women in Nolan’s movies exist solely to die and/or motivate the men around them, but even the ones that’ve partly broken that mold (Murph in Interstellar, Miranda Tate/Talia al Ghul in Dark Knight Rises) have had many of the same character development issues.
That being said: Nolan seems to be aware of this issue by now and will hopefully take steps to amend it with his latest offering. Debicki, for her part, has tended to excel in everything from minor supporting roles (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, The Cloverfield Paradox) to movies and TV shows that either allow her to really demonstrate her acting chops (The Night Manager, Widows) or simply steal a few scenes as a stylish and suave villain (The Man From U.N.C.L.E.). That alone is reason enough to look forward to learning more (or, really, anything) about her role in Nolan’s latest cerebral blockbuster.
MORE: Inside the Brilliant Mind of Christopher Nolan
Source: Variety
