Controversy swallowed up Olivia Wilde’s domestic thriller Don’t Worry Darling before anyone laid eyes on it. The hope is that things will run smoothly for her next film, The Invite, which she will direct and have a role in alongside Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, and Edward Norton. The casting news was confirmed by Variety.
The Invite is a date night comedy based on Cesc Gay’s 2020 Spanish film, Sentimental. Wilde will direct from a script by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, who previously wrote Celeste and Jesse Forever. The story involves “a couple [who] invites the neighbors over, igniting an evening full of unexpected twists and turns, revealing deeply repressed emotions and unexplored sexuality.”
An earlier version of this project had Amy Adams, Paul Rudd, and Tessa Thompson attached, from Little Miss Sunshine directors Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton.
Wilde has already begun filming in Los Angeles, so look for The Invite to arrive sooner than later. Coming up for Wilde is Gregg Araki’s I Want Your Sex opposite Cooper Hoffman. She’s also attached to direct the comic book film Avengelyne, the holiday comedy Naughty, and the long-developing Kerri Strug biopic Perfect, which may not even happen at this point.
