Wayland - What We Know So Far

Jessica Chastain is teaming up with two former collaborators to make a new drama ensemble thriller for Lionsgate, titled "Wayland." Deadline reported that Chastain is set to produce the new film, which has a script from Simon Kinberg and will be directed by Michael Showalter — both of whom Chastain has worked with before.

Chastain's upcoming action thriller, "The 355," was written and directed by Kinberg, who has also penned films such as 2005's "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," 2009's "Sherlock Holmes," and 2019's "X-Men: Dark Phoenix" (via IMDb). Showalter is the director of the recent Chastain-starring biopic, "The Eyes of Tammy Faye," and has also helmed films such as 2017's "The Big Sick" and 2020's "The Lovebirds" (via IMDb). Both Kinberg and Showalter have several titles in pre-production — the former will be writing upcoming films such as "Killer's Game" and "Here Comes the Flood," while the latter is set to direct forthcoming movies "Spoiler Alert" and "I Love This For You."

Here's everything else we know so far about the upcoming "Wayland" — including its release date, cast, and plot.

As of now, "Wayland" is still in the early stages of pre-production, so there is no release date yet. Deadline did report that they are looking to start production sometime in 2022.

To speculate further, we can look at Chastain's upcoming collaboration with Kinberg, the action film "The 355," which she also produced. In May 2018, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Universal Pictures had landed the rights to "The 355" before the script was written, with just the pitched synopsis known. Production on the film was announced to have begun in July of 2019 (via THR). The film is now slated to be released to theaters on January 7, 2022. All in all, it took about three and a half years from the early stages of pre-production to the release date. However, with COVID-19 delaying numerous productions in 2020, we can likely assume "The 355" was amongst those that had to push back filming.

Putting "Wayland" into a similar timeframe, even without delay from COVID, we can still assume it's going to be at least two years before we see it on the big screen. The release date will also depend on when filming occurs next year. If production starts early 2022, maybe we'll see a release date by the end of 2023. Otherwise, a 2024 release date looks more likely.

Currently, there are no cast members announced for "Wayland" — not even producer Jessica Chastain. However, this doesn't rule out the actor entirely for the possibility of joining the film's cast — after all, she has participated in all of her recent producing credits (via IMDb).

Some of these recent projects, in which she has produced and acted, include the biopic "The Eyes of Tammy Faye" and the HBO miniseries "Scenes from a Marriage," where she starred opposite Oscar Isaac. Previously, she produced and starred in the 2020 crime thriller "Ava" and the 2017 historical drama "The Zookeeper's Wife." Another upcoming producing project for Chastain is the action-adventure drama "The Division," which she's set to star alongside Jake Gyllenhaal.

As for whether or not Chastain will play a role in "Wayland" — as well as other actors who will be cast — we'll have to wait for another announcement.

As with the release date and information on the cast, there is currently very little known about the plot of "Wayland." According to the Deadline report, "Wayland" will be "an ensemble drama thriller that has shades of 'A Simple Plan' and 'Knives Out.'"

While the comparison doesn't give us any concrete detail on the "Wayland" plot, it does help us zero in on what we can expect from the tone of the film. "A Simple Favor," a crime thriller, and "Knives Out," a murder mystery, both have strong elements of comedy embedded into their scripts. Thus, we can expect "Wayland" to feature some crime at its center, but it could be delivered as a black comedy thriller or something of the sort.

We'll just have to wait for more information about "Wayland" to be released to get a better picture.