This fall there are a lot of exciting movies to look forward to. Between Halloween Ends, Black Adam, and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story, there's a healthy mix of horror, superhero fun, and mystery. Right smack in the middle of those releases is Olivia Wilde's next directorial offering, Don't Worry Darling. It's one of this fall's most anticipated new releases.
Wilde broke out onto the Hollywood scene as a director with her 2019 smash hit comedy, Booksmart. Wilde's Booksmart deftly circumvented the all-too-familiar tropes of the coming-of-age subgenre, as she delivered a subversive, intelligent teenage comedy. Booksmart was included on countless critics' top ten lists and was nominated for Best Comedy at the Critics Choice Awards. Many critics singled out and praised Wilde's confident direction. With all of that immeasurable praise, the anticipation for Wilde's next directorial outing, Don't Worry Darling, is understandably through the roof.
While Booksmart was an intelligent, hilarious coming-of-age story, Don't Worry Darling is a psychological thriller. The film's story follows a young couple, Jack and Alice, living in an idyllic, seemingly perfect community during the 1950s. The community, called Victory, has been created by a mysterious businessman named Frank, who runs the small town and employs Jack in his company. Jack and Alice have perfect lives until Alice starts to question the eerie nature of Jack's work, which upends their utopian life and relationship. Although much of the film has been kept under wraps, the film's minimalist poster and teaser trailer hint at a creepy, unnerving period piece. The film's initial teaser trailer shrouds the story in mystery, showing only glimpses of "Victory", the enigmatic company town that is the centerpiece of the film. As the trailer progresses, the hidden layers of this seemingly idyllic community begin to slowly unravel. Wilde states the film borrows heavily from "Inception, The Matrix, [and] The Truman Show", suggesting a trippy undercurrent to the film's Stepford Wives vibes.
Don't Worry Darling will be released exclusively in theaters on September 23. Keep reading below for a cast and character guide for one of the most anticipated fall releases of the year.
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Florence Pugh as Alice Chambers
The lead character of Alice Chambers will be played by Florence Pugh, who most recently starred in the MCU productions Black Widow and Hawkeye as Yelena Belova. Alice is committed but playful, incredibly happy with Jack and their ideal life together in Victory. She's the classic "stay-at-home" wife. She wants nothing more than to please Jack and to make sure she comes across as the perfect housewife. The trailer opens with narration from Frank, the head of the mysterious "Victory Project", describing how much hard work the women of the town put forward to protect that "ideal life". There are glimpses of Alice doing laundry, cooking dinner, and kissing her husband Jack as he drives off to work. Everything seems undeniably perfect until Alice starts to notice that everything is not what it seems. She cracks an egg while cooking breakfast that is empty, fellow neighbor Margaret stands oddly on top of a roof, and the walls start closing in on her. Alice isn't going to just accept these oddities and starts asking questions. She starts to question her husband, Jack, and Frank himself, but the film's trailer naturally keeps those answers hidden. There is a certain persistence to Alice even as the men in the trailer completely dismiss her claims. There is a notable shot in the trailer of Alice desperately pulling apart saran wrap that covers her face, symbolizing Alice breaking through the facade of this mysterious town.
With her portrayals in Little Women and Midsommar, Pugh has made a name for herself as a breakout leading actress. She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her memorable performance as Amy March in Little Women. She also appeared in the ensemble cast for Fighting With My Family as Saraya "Paige" Knight, and she reprised her role of Yelena Belova/Black Widow in the Disney+ series Hawkeye. Pugh is set to have a big year in 2023 with leading roles in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer and Denis Villeneuve's Dune: Part Two as Princess Irulan, which is currently filming.
Harry Styles as Jack Chambers
Harry Styles plays the dashing Jack Chambers, Alice's husband. Jack is an undoubtedly hard-working professional, who gets up every morning at the same time to go to work and comes home at the same time every day. He is indescribably loyal to Frank and the Victory Project, even if the details of his professional life are unknown to Alice. When Alice starts to question the very nature of Jack's enigmatic work, he is determined to resist Alice's suspicions. For Jack, he wants to maintain the Utopian simplicity of their life in Victory, and Alice's persistent curiosity harshly undermines that. Wilde praised Styles for his performance in the film, citing "most male actors don't want to be playing supporting roles in female-led films." Wilde also praised Styles for his "nuanced sense of humanity", claiming Styles blew her away with his talent every day on set. Jack is Styles' biggest role to date, a character requiring complex emotional intensity. Based on Wilde's comments, Styles is definitely up for the challenge.
Harry Styles is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. Styles is known musically for his role in the pop band One Direction. The multi-talented singer/actor got his fictional acting start in 2017's Dunkirk, where he played a soldier named Alex. He then made a surprise cameo appearance as Eros in the mid-credits stinger for Marvel Studios' Eternals. Styles is next starring as Tom Burgess in the romantic drama My Policeman, also due for release in 2022.
Chris Pine as Frank
Chris Pine plays Frank, the charismatic leader of the Victory Project. There is a fair amount of mystery surrounding Frank, and not much is known about him besides the fact he's clearly the person in charge of Victory's small but staunch community. From the trailers, it is clear the entire township of Victory undeniably worships Frank, showing unyielding loyalty to him and his leadership. Frank talks about the sacrifices the women of the town endure to make sure the men can do their jobs perfectly, which begins to arouse some suspicion in Alice. Frank is extremely confident about Victory's "mission statement," which includes total secrecy and commitment. While many of Frank's neighbors are wholly dedicated to preserving that secrecy, Alice is not one of them. Even as Alice confronts her neighbors about the authenticity of Frank's intentions, many seem scared to even question him. There is definitely something intimidating hidden deep underneath the facade of Frank's friendly swagger.
Chris Pine's role as Captain James T. Kirk in J.J. Abrams' reboot of Star Trek sent him racing towards stardom at warp speed. Since then, Pine has made appearances in several high-profile movies. He has appeared in such movies as Hell or High Water, Smokin' Aces, This Means War, Horrible Bosses 2, and most notably as Steve Trevor in Wonder Woman opposite Gal Gadot. He then reprised the role of Steve Trevor in the sequel Wonder Woman 1984 for director Patty Jenkins. Pine has also lent his voice talents to another popular superhero, the older Peter Parker/Spider-Man, in Sony's animated smash hit Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Next year Pine is set to reprise his role as Kirk in an untitled Star Trek sequel from WandaVision director Matt Shakman, and will be leading the ensemble of the potential franchise-starter Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Pine is currently working on his directorial debut, the mystery comedy Poolman, in which he will also star in.
Olivia Wilde as Bunny
Olivia Wilde will be playing Bunny, one of Alice's best friends in Victory. In the trailer, Alice confides in Bunny as she begins to suspect there are ulterior motives to the work Jack is doing for Frank. Bunny is happily ignorant as the trailer begins, claiming at least the work their husbands are doing is yielding something "productive." As Alice starts to dig deeper into this mystery, Bunny seems almost afraid to unearth the truth behind what is really happening in Victory. Wilde is also the director of Don't Worry Darling. Wilde became well-known to American audiences for playing supporting roles in successful comedies such as Drinking Buddies, which she also executive produced. Wilde has also appeared in such films as The Girl Next Door, Alpha Dog, Conversations With Other Women, and made appearances in high-profile movies such as Cowboys & Aliens, In Time, and Tron: Legacy. Wilde made her directorial debut with Booksmart. Wilde won Best First Feature for Booksmart at the Independent Spirit Awards in 2020. She also won the Teen Choice Awards' Breakout Female Star for her supporting role in House.
Gemma Chan as Shelley
Gemma Chan will be playing Shelley, one of the many devoted wives in Victory. While Chan isn't revealed much in the trailer, Shelley is significant to the story given that she is Frank's wife. There isn't much to be known about Shelley other than that, but the trailer does hint there is much more to Shelly's relationship with Frank than meets the eye. Chan received widespread critical attention for her performance in the hit film Crazy Rich Asians, in which she played Astrid. Before that, Chan collaborated with Pine in the film Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. Chan has also appeared in such films as Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, Mary Queen of Scots, and Captain Marvel. Chan also played Sersi in Marvel Studios' Eternals featuring Don't Worry Darling co-star Styles, who made a cameo appearance. Next year Chan will star opposite John David Washington and Allison Janney in the original sci-fi romance True Love from Rogue One filmmaker Gareth Edwards.
KiKi Layne as Margaret
KiKi Layne stars as Margaret, one of the residents of Victory. Margaret appears in the trailer standing mysteriously on top of a roof, hinting there's more to the town of Victory than Frank suggests. The trailer also hints Margaret's role in the film is the catalyst that starts Alice on her journey to question the town of Victory and its inhabitants, including Frank and her husband Jack. In that sense, Margaret is the domino that causes a devastating rippling effect that affects the entire small community of Victory. Layne was one of the last additions to join the cast of the film. Layne has appeared in such films as If Beale Street Could Talk, The Old Guard, and Coming 2 America. Layne received numerous award nominations for her breakout performance in If Beale Street Could Talk, including a nomination for Best Breakthrough Actor at the Gotham Awards. Layne most recently appeared in the Disney+ film Chip 'N Dale: Rescue Rangers in which she played Detective Ellie Steckler. It was also recently announced that Layne will be reprising her role as Nile Freeman in the sequel The Old Guard 2, which is currently in pre-production.
Nick Kroll as Bill
Nick Kroll will play Bill, the hard-partying husband of Bunny, who is one of Jack and Alice's neighbors. Kroll is known mainly for his work in comedy and in voice-acting; he co-created the hit Netflix animated series Big Mouth as well as its spin-off Human Resources, and voices numerous characters in both shows. He also created and starred in the Comedy Central sketch comedy series Kroll Show. Kroll has lent his voice to animated films such as The Bob's Burgers Movie, Sausage Party, the Sing movies, The Addams Family and its sequel, The Secret Life of Pets 2, and Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie. He also had roles in comedy films including Uncle Drew, The House, Date Night, and Vacation. Though Don't Worry Darling isn't Kroll's first experience in a more dramatic role having played in films such as Loving, Operation Finale, and Knight of Cups.
Other cast members include Sydney Chandler, Douglas Smith, Kate Berlant, Asif Ali, Timothy Simons, Alisha Heng, Dita Von Teese, Marcello Julian Reyes, and Mariah Justice.