Ethan Coen has assembled a stellar cast for “Honey Don’t!,” his follow-up to this year’s “Drive-Away Dolls.”
Thirteen new actors have joined the cast of “Honey Don’t!” that already includes stars Chris Evans, Margaret Qualley, and Aubrey Plaza. Rounding out the ensemble are “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” star Charlie Day, “Bros” star and comedian Billy Eichner, and “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” actress Talia Ryder, IndieWire has learned. Also joining the cast are Lera Abova, Jacnier, Gabby Beans, Kristin Connolly, Lena Hall, Don Swayze, Josh Pafchek, Kale Brown, Alexander Carstoiu, and Christin Antidormi.
“Honey Don’t!” is filming now in New Mexico and will be released by Focus Features, which also released “Drive-Away Dolls,” Ethan Coen’s first feature as a solo director separate from his brother Joel Coen. The new film is reportedly set in Bakersfield, California, with Evans playing a cult leader, Qualley portraying a private investigator, and Plaza as a mystery woman.
More plot details for “Honey Don’t!” are still being kept under wraps, but the film is a comedy and is said to be in a similar vein to “Drive-Away Dolls.” That film, which released in theaters in February, has only made a disappointing $6.7 million at the box office despite another impressive cast that also included Qualley, as well as Geraldine Viswanathan, Matt Damon, Pedro Pascal, and Colman Domingo.
Like “Drive-Away Dolls,” “Honey Don’t!” has a script Coen co-wrote with his wife Tricia Cooke, who for years was an editor on many Coen Brothers movies. Coen and Cooke are also producing the film alongside Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, and Robert Graf.
Talia Ryder recently starred in the Sundance film “Little Death” opposite David Schwimmer, and in the Sony film “Dumb Money.” Day is the voice of Luigi in “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” and is still starring on “Always Sunny.” Eichner starred in and wrote 2022’s romantic comedy “Bros,” and he will reprise his role as Timon in “Mufasa: The Lion King” being released by Disney this Christmas.
Ethan Coen previously didn’t close the door on reuniting with his brother Joel on a future project and has said that “nothing dramatic” occurred between the two of them.
“Going our own separate ways sounds like it suggests it might be final,” he said. “But none of this stuff happened definitively. None of the decisions are definitive. We might make another movie.”
Deadline first reported the news of the casting.
