After starring in Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame and making her directorial debut with the upcoming Netflix movie Unicorn Store, it's safe to say that Brie Larson deserves a break. She has certainly earned one. And perhaps that's why she has pulled out of Charlie Kaufman's psychological thriller I'm Thinking of Ending Things. I haven't heard of any creative differences or another project that would pose a scheduling conflict. I simply imagine that after a whirlwind press tour for Captain Marvel -- one that will surely continue next month with Endgame -- the actress simply wanted to rest rather than squeeze in another movie.

It's a shame, really, as not only was I looking forward to seeing Larson work with fellow Oscar winner Kaufman, but I was excited to see her paired with Jesse Plemons. Now it'll be rising star Jessie Buckley (Beast) stepping into the female lead, and joining her will be Toni Collette and David Thewlis, both of whom are riding high following their respective turns in Hereditary and the fourth season of Fargo.

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Image via NEON

Based on Ian Reid’s 2016 novel, I’m Thinking of Ending Things follows Jake (Plemons) as he takes his girlfriend (Buckley) on a road trip to meet his parents on their secluded farm. It's always awkward meeting your significant other's parents, but in this case it's extra weird because she is thinking of ending their relationship. When Jake makes an unexpected detour that leaves her stranded, all bets are off as sheer terror ensues.

Kaufman is producing the film with his longtime collaborator Anthony Bregman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) of Likely Story, as well as Stefanie Azpiazu and Bob Salerno. Reid will serve as a co-producer on the project. Given Kaufman's stature in the industry, I do wonder if Netflix plans to give this film a limited theatrical release, or whether they'd planned to when Larson was set to star. I've heard great things about the book, but don't know if the film has any awards prospects. Genre films rarely do, but in Kaufman's hands, you never know.

Collette, of course, found that our the hard way when her bravura performance in A24's Hereditary was overlooked by awards voters. She recently starred in another Netflix movie, Dan Gilroy's Velvet Buzzsaw, and she'll soon be seen in Rian Johnson's murder mystery Knives Out with Daniel Craig and Chris Evans.

Buckley broke out in the indie thriller Beast and is said to give a star-making performance in the upcoming music-driven feature Wild Rose. She recently wrapped the Robert Downey Jr. vehicle The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle and will soon be seen in HBO's limited series Chernobyl.

In addition to Fargo, Thewlis recently starred in Wonder Woman, and he's also part of the Avatar sequel slated for release in December 2020. CAA represents all three actors, whose castings were first reported by Variety.

 

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Image via A24
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Image via FX