Damien Chazelle is writing and directing an upcoming American prison drama film. It stars Daniel Craig, Cillian Murphy, Michelle Williams, and Mia Threapleton.
Set in the 1940s, a prison warden attempts to discipline a defiant inmate within a brutal correctional system. As tensions rise, their relationship evolves into a psychological duel.
In June 2014, 20th Century Studios acquired an untitled pitch from Damien Chazelle with Shawn Levy and 21 Laps Entertainment producing. It was described as a high-concept and character-driven genre film inspired by the paranoid thrillers of the 1970s.
In February 2024, Chazelle acknowledged that he was in the process of finishing a new screenplay that he planned to direct, but remained skeptical about the amount of creative freedom he would be allowed following the box office disappointment of his previous film Babylon (2022). "I'm in a sort of trepidatious state of mind, but I have no illusions. I won't get a budget of Babylon size any time soon, or at least not on this next one," Chazelle told Ben Mankiewicz on an episode of Talking Pictures. "I have very mixed mind about it. Maybe I won't be able to get this one made. We'll have to wait and see." In April, it was announced that Chazelle had officially set his next film - a prison drama - at Paramount Pictures with the film tentatively set to release in 2025. By July, it was expected that principal photography would commence in October 2024, though this did not occur.
In September 2024, Chazelle revealed that he was working on another project simultaneously as his prison drama film and wasn't entirely sure which he would do first. In December, it was revealed that this second project was an Evel Knievel biopic for Paramount, with Leonardo DiCaprio tentatively attached to star. In March, it was announced that Chazelle had tentatively opted to prioritize Evel Knevel on Tour instead of his prison drama with casting underway.
However, in May 2025, Chazelle circled back to the prison drama as his next film with Daniel Craig and Cillian Murphy cast in the lead roles, after Paramount was unable to make a deal with DiCaprio for Evel Knievel on Tour. The Hollywood Reporter claimed that DiCaprio - who was initially offered a part in the prison drama before passing in favor of Evel Knevel on Tour - opted to step away to prioritize another collaboration with Martin Scorsese, due to his old age. In January 2026, Michelle Williams and Mia Threapleton joined the cast. Rebecca Ferguson offered Williams' role previously, but turned it down because of scheduling conflicts.
Principal photography began on March 18, 2026, in Greece. Murphy and Threapleton were spotted shooting a scene in Athens, Greece on March 25.