Emerald Fennell is quickly becoming a sought-after filmmaker and her second feature film, following the wildly successful Promising Young Woman, is ramping up towards the start of its production. Now, reported exclusively by Deadline, Rosamund Pike is set to star in the upcoming film.
Pike's role is unknown as is much more about the film itself, but Deadline says that its title is Saltburn according to their sources. Those same sources also say the plot follows “a grand, aristocratic English family” which is something Fennell has similar life experience with — Fennell played Camilla Parker Bowles on The Crown.
Pike has had an impressive acting career over the last two decades starring in films like Die Another Day, Pride & Prejudice, Gone Girl, A Private War, and last year’s well-received Netflix thriller I Care a Lot. The actress has had many diverse roles over the years, and it is going to be exciting to see what kind of character she will play in this upcoming film. She currently stars as Moiraine Damodred on the Prime Video fantasy series, Wheel of Time.
It is all the more exciting given that this will be a Fennell-directed project. While the director has acted in films like Anna Karenina, The Danish Girl, and Pan, as well as TV shows like The Crown, Fennell is best known for her Oscar-winning directorial debut Promising Young Woman, which took home Best Original Screenplay. She was also nominated for Best Director and Best Picture for the film as well. Promising Young Woman was a fresh thriller when it was released in 2020 and it touched on a very dark topic in a creatively energetic and bluntly humorous way. It is a film that everyone should watch at least one time in their life. Fennell’s other writing credits include the popular TV series Killing Eve and the book for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Cinderella.
Now that Saltburn has been announced with its lead actress and director attached, we can likely expect more casting and production news in the not too distant future. We can't wait to see who else will fill out the cast around the Pike. Fennell is currently in the middle of filming on Greta Gerwig’s Barbie starring Margot Robbie, but Saltburn is expected to start shooting later this year.
Until then, you can watch Promising Young Woman which is currently streaming on HBO Max, and as always, stay tuned at Collider for updates on Saltburn.