Attendees of CinemaCon in Las Vegas this week were treated with an exclusive first look at Babylon, Damien Chazelle’s forthcoming period drama about the golden age of Hollywood. After it was announced almost a year ago that Tobey Maguire was cast in the film, his role has finally been revealed as silent film pioneer Charlie Chaplin.
Set in the late 1920s, Babylon is a Great Gatsby-meets-Once Upon a Time in Hollywood tale of the movie biz’s transition from silent films to talkies. Alongside Maguire — who’s also executive producing — Chazelle’s feature-length follow-up to First Man also stars Brad Pitt as silent film actor John Gilbert, as well as Margot Robbie as the original “It Girl” Clara Bow.
Judging by the trailer shown at CinemaCon, Babylon very well might be your next favorite movie about movies: “You know what we have to do… we have to redefine the form,” Pitt’s character says (via Variety). “When I first moved to Hollywood, the stars on all the doors said ‘No actors and no dogs allowed.'” To which Robbie’s character responds: “You don’t become a star. You either are one… or you ain’t.”
Babylon will receive a limited release on December 25th, 2022 before going wide on January 6th, 2023 via Paramount. Its star-studded cast also includes Olivia Wilde, Spike Jonze, Flea, Katherine Waterston, Max Minghella, Diego Calva, Samara Weaving, Rory Scovel, and Lukas Haas, though their roles in the film have not yet been revealed. Despite early speculations that she’d star in the film, Emma Stone has not been cast.
Aside from a surprise appearance (spoiler alert!) in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Babylon marks Maguire’s first on-screen role since Pawn Sacrifice in 2014. However, he did loan his voice for the 2017 animated film, The Boss Baby.
Chazelle rose to prominence with his 2016 musical smash La La Land, which made the then-32-year-old filmmaker the youngest ever to win Best Director at the Academy Awards. More recently, he executive produced the musical series The Eddy for Netflix.
