Wes Anderson Reveals He'll Reunite With Owen Wilson For His Next Film

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by Oliver Lyttelton
May 21, 2012 4:31 PM
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"Moonrise Kingdom" marks an important moment in the Wes Anderson canon; it's his first film without any involvement from Owen Wilson, his writing partner and frequent star. Wilson co-wrote and starred in "Bottle Rocket," he co-wrote "Rushmore" (and contributed a little pictoral cameo), co-wrote and starred in "The Royal Tenenbaums," starred in "The Life Aquatic" and "The Darjeeling Limited," and let his voice to a minor character in "Fantastic Mr. Fox." But in 'Moonrise?' Despite rumors of a cameo, he's nowhere to be found, either in front of or behind the camera.

But the good news is, that absence isn't going to be a lasting one. On the "Moonrise Kingdom" press tour, the director's already started talking up his next picture, a film he describes as 'a European movie,' and one written by an old friend with no involvement in the movie business. While details are still thin on the ground (Anderson's still writing it), he has now revealed that another old friend is involved in the project, and one very much involved in the movie business. You guessed it, it's Owen Wilson.

Anderson spoke to the Dallas Morning News (via The Film Stage), and told the paper that "This is the first movie I've made that [Wilson] hasn't been directly involved with, although he was around as a friend. We started out doing this stuff together in the first place. It's a family dynamic." But Anderson confirmed to the reporter that the new script, described as 'a large ensemble piece' does have a role for Wilson in it. Will it be a lead? Or another supporting/cameo role, a la 'Tenenbaums' and "Fantastic Mr. Fox?" Well, we're unlikely to find out for a little while: we imagine Anderson will be writing for a little while, with the film unlikely to go before cameras before 2013. But it's good to hear that Wilson will be back: as much as we like "Moonrise Kingdom," a Wes Anderson film without him doesn't feel quite right.

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DG | May 22, 2012 1:48 AMReply

This is good news. All the bad Anderson films were co written by Owen Wilson. I remember hearing rumors that he quit writing after being disappointed that Tennenbaums didn't get an Oscar nomination, does anyone know if that's true?
junior | May 22, 2012 1:58 AM

BTW Wilson's just acting in this, not co-writing it. And Tenenbaums did get an Oscar nomination: Best Original Screenplay.
anon | May 22, 2012 1:21 AMReply

where's (and when) is that photo from?
rodie | May 21, 2012 5:12 PMReply

Damn. The headline to this story could have been "no Owen Wilson cameo in Moonrise Kingdom". I thought for sure we'd see Wilson pop up, even if for just a quick scene. Oh well.