Oscar winner Emerald Fennell‘s follow-up to “Promising Young Woman” looks to be putting a fresh new twist on “The Talented Mr. Ripley.” Fennell’s sophomore feature “Saltburn” stars Barry Keoghan as an Oxford University student who becomes enamored with his charismatic classmate, portrayed by Jacob Elordi. Fennell writes, directs, and produces, along with Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment with Josey McNamara and Tom Ackerley. Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Archie Madekwe, Carey Mulligan, and Alison Oliver also star in the film, which is set in 2006.
The Amazon, MGM, and MRC release is teased as a “a wicked tale of privilege and desire,” with the official synopsis reading: “Struggling to find his place at Oxford University, student Oliver Quick (Keoghan) finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton (Elordi), who invites him to Saltburn, his eccentric family’s sprawling estate, for a summer never to be forgotten.”
Fennell’s 2020 directorial debut “Promising Young Woman” won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Also an actress, Fennell recently appeared in collaborator Robbie’s “Barbie.”
The film is already set to open the 2023 BFI London Film Festival in October. “I’m honored that our film is able to open this year’s BFI London Film Festival. It is a festival that inspired me so much growing up, one that I followed excitedly from my bedroom on the other side of London,” Fennell said in a press statement. “It feels extra-special that ‘Saltburn,’ this very British tale of excess, is able to make its international debut at the wonderful BFI.”
BFI director Kristy Matheson added, “With its exceptional performances, delicious plot twists and a soundtrack of early 21st century pop bangers; this hugely ambitious film immediately stole our hearts.”
The “Saltburn” cast includes a number in-demand A-listers, with Keoghan recently popping up as The Joker in a small role in Matt Reeves’ “Batman”; he’s next set to appear in “Bird” alongside “Passages” breakout Franz Rogowski. Keoghan recently received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his turn in “Banshees of Inisherin.”
Meanwhile, “Euphoria” breakout Elordi is playing Elvis Presley in Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla,” which is also hitting the fall festival circuit, and co-stars with Daisy Edgar-Jones and Diego Calva in queer romance “On Swift Horses.”
The cast is rounded out by Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Alison Oliver, Archie Madekwe, and Carey Mulligan, marking a reunion with Fennell after “Promising Young Woman.”
“Saltburn” is produced by writer-director Fennell, LuckyChap’s Margot Robbie, and Josey McNamara.
“Saltburn” premieres in theaters November 24. Check out the film’s first teaser below.
