Back in November, we learned James Gray was moving forward with Paper Tiger, his follow-up film to 2022’s Armageddon Time. The film had Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong, and Adam Driver already aboard, promising another star-studded, likely awards-contending film from Gray. But as the film hits the Cannes market, there have been two major changes. Hathaway and Strong are out, and Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller are in.
Reports are that scheduling conflicts forced Hathaway and Strong to drop out of Paper Tiger, which is expected to start filming in New Jersey next month. Driver remains in the cast.
Gray directs the gritty crime drama from his own screenplay and original story about “two brothers who pursue the American Dream—only to become entangled in a scheme that turns out to be too good to be true. As they try to navigate their way through an ever-more dangerous world of corruption and violence, they find themselves and their family brutally terrorized by the Russian “Mafiya.” Their bond begins to fray, and betrayal—once utterly unthinkable—now becomes all too possible.”
Coming up for Johansson is her directorial debut, Eleanor the Great, along with Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme. That will be followed by Jurassic World: Rebirth in July.
Teller was last seen starring in Scott Derrickon’s The Gorge. He’s attached himself to a couple of projects recently, Greg Kwedar‘s Nashville star film Possom Song and Paul Downs Calaizzo‘s Winter Games. He’ll be seen next in Antoine Fuqua’s Michael Jackson biopic, and A24 rom-com Eternity opposite Elizabeth Olsen.
Expect more on Paper Tiger soon.
