The actor stars in the new project from Yorgos Lanthimos, in theaters this September.
After the success of 2018’s period black comedy The Favourite, which saw Yorgos Lanthimos enlist the talents of Olivia Colman and Emma Stone, the latter reunites with the acclaimed director for his latest project, twisted Frankenstein tale Poor Things. While Lanthimos is known for dense, unsettling psychological dramas, the new film is tackling a new genre for the director, in a sci-fi tinted horror. A newly released image from the film shows Stone star as Bella Baxter, a woman who is brought back from the dead by a mad scientist, albeit with her brain replaced with that of an infant’s.
Lanthimos previously praised Stone’s performance in the film, calling it “unlike anything you’ve seen before,” adding that “sometimes Emma would go, ‘I don’t know what the hell I’m doing – is this any good?’ And sometimes I don’t even know, so we try different things. To be honest, I’m amazed with her.” So impressed by Stone was the director, that she was cast in the project to follow Poor Things, an anthology film entitled AND. Stone is joined in the cast of Poor Things by Willem Dafoe, who appears as Dr. Godwin Baxter, the twisted madman who resurrects Bella. Also starring in the film is Margaret Qualley, with both her and Dafoe also returning for AND alongside Stone. Rounding out the cast of Poor Things is Mark Ruffalo, Christopher Abbott, Ramy Youssef, Jarod Carmichael, and Kathryn Hunter.
The filming of Poor Things took place in Hungary during the latter half of 2021, with a screenplay by Tony McNamara, adapted from Alasdair Gray‘s novel of the same name. McNamara previously worked with Lanthimos having penned the script for The Favourite. Robbie Ryan is credited as the film’s cinematographer, while Yorgos Mavropsaridis serves as editor. The film was produced by Ed Guiney, Ali Herting, Andrew Lowe, Dave McCary, alongside Lanthimos and Stone.