Hunter Schafer’s feature film debut adds two new stars to its cast: Dan Stevens and Jessica Henwick. neon’s upcoming horror film Cuckoo will mark the first big screen appearance of Euphoria star Schafer. henwick and Stevens join an ensemble that already includes Gemma Chan, Sofia Boutella, Freelance’s Marton Csókás, Santo’s Greta Fernández and Jan Bluthardt.
Tilman Singer, the writer and director behind 2018’s mesmerizing but perceptive Luz, is helming the project. While plot details remain under wraps, Deadline reports that the film is in post-production and was shot in Germany on 35mm film, and will premiere in theaters sometime in 2023.
Cuckoo joins Stevens and Henwick’s list of exciting upcoming projects. Stevens has just been cast as the lead in Adam Wingard’s upcoming Godzilla vs. King Kong sequel, and Henwick has a role in Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans’ giant Grey Man, which arrives on Netflix on July 15. she will also star in another neon picture, Hotel Royal, opposite Julia Gardner. Plus, like everyone on Planet Hollywood, Hunwick has landed a role in Lane Johnson’s “Sharp Objects” sequel, “The Glass Onion”.
In addition to the cast list, Neon also shared the first photo of Schafer in Cuckoo. The evocative shot shows Schafer’s character, head and arm bandaged and wearing a sling, dreadfully hiding behind a shelf from a blurred and dangerous figure in the background.
The scenery seems to suggest that the film was shot in a hospital or some form of rehab facility, although in today’s world of trailers as the primary trailer and red herring marketing, that’s impossible to determine. Regardless of the scenery, Schaeffer showing off her scream queen muscles with Sir Matthew Crowley and Namelia Sander feels like enough to make her happy.