Adam McKay Assembles Ensemble Cast in Netflix’s ‘Don’t Look Up’: Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Jennifer Lawrence & More to Star

Netflix continues to flex on major movie studios as Adam McKay builds out the cast for his upcoming project with the streaming service, titled Don’t Look Up.

In what appears to be a star-studded ensemble that seemingly puts Ocean’s Eleven to shame, the Jennifer Lawrence-starring apocalyptic comedy-drama adds Leonardo DiCaprio, Merryl Streep, Jonah Hill, and Timothée Chalamet to the mix of actors signed up for the project. Also attached to Don’t Look Up are Jonah Hill, Cate Blanchett, Ariana Grande, Kid Cudi, Himesh Patel, Tomer Sisley, Matthew Perry, and Rob Morgan. The movie follows McKay’s 2018 Oscar-nominated effort, Vice.

Lawrence plays a low-level astronomer who discovers an asteroid about to blow Earth to bits. She goes on a media tour with a co-scientist to warn the country of the impending danger, but people aren’t as quick to believe her reports (kind of sounds familiar, huh?).

McKay is writing and directing Don’t Look Up under his Hyperobject Industries banner. Production was supposed to commence back in April, but it had to be halted following the coronavirus pandemic. But the delay turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it allowed McKay to assemble the film’s high-profile cast, especially DiCaprio, who was unsure if his schedule could juggle between Don’t Look Up and Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. Eventually, DiCaprio decided on doing both.

In an interview with Insider, the director described his return to his comedic roots with Don’t Look Up. McKay cites the “bleak nature” of working on Vice prompted him to make comedy movies again. “I think, God almighty do we need laughter right now,” said McKay, who never hesitated to take a jab at the current political situation in the US. “It’s the only way I’m getting through this. You just have to laugh at the cravenness of not just Trump but the Republican party. And I’m also going to say the ineptness of the Democrats and the weakness of them, which I think shines through nicely in ‘537 Votes.'”

But the director clarified that it wouldn’t be as comedic as his past projects like Anchorman and Talledega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. “I don’t think it’s a Step Brothers-type of comedy,” McKay said. “I would compare it more to somewhere between the Mike Judge stuff and Wag the Dog. A hard funny satire is what we’re going for.”

SOURCE: Deadline