A24’s long-brewing vampire fever dream has shifted shape again. Wagner Moura, fresh off an Academy Award nomination for “The Secret Agent,” has joined “Flesh Of The Gods,” Panos Cosmatos’ lurid ‘80s-set thriller, and the casting move comes with a notable change: Moura is replacing Oscar Isaac in one of the film’s lead roles after Isaac exited due to a scheduling conflict.
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When the project first took shape, Kristen Stewart and Isaac were set to star as Raoul and Alex, a married couple in glittering ’80s Los Angeles who descend from their luxury high-rise each evening into a nocturnal world of excess, seduction, and violence. Later, Elizabeth Olsen was added to the cast, but in the latest announcement, Stewart remains, Moura is in, Isaac is out, and Olsen is not mentioned at all, leaving her participation TBD and possibly out of play given how long it’s taken for this film to come together and find financing.
Cosmatos returns to familiar terrain here. The filmmaker behind “Mandy” has built a reputation for turning genre into something tactile and hypnotic, and “Flesh Of The Gods” leans into that same mix of eroticism, danger, and heightened, neon-drenched atmosphere.
The script comes from Andrew Kevin Walker, whose work on “Se7en” and, more recently, “The Killer” suggests a filmmaker-writer pairing interested in spiritual rot, and worlds of nasty desire On paper, it still sounds like one of A24’s more alluring genre plays, the kind of elevated pulp that could either fully intoxicate or spin off into pure style.
Moura, though, is a strong replacement. He brings a grounded intensity that should play well opposite Stewart, and he’s not a one-to-one Isaac substitute, which may be exactly the point. The project’s chemistry changes with him, potentially sharpening its edge.
Still, after a stretch in which Stewart herself said the film was seeking financing as recently as late 2025, this update suggests forward motion again. With Moura now stepping in opposite Stewart, “Flesh Of The Gods” is moving ahead—even if the shape of its ensemble is still settling.
