Whether it’s ancient cities in the Amazon jungle, uncharted regions of the solar system, or the bleak trenches of WW1, James Gray’s worlds are always meticulously crafted and endlessly immersive. For his upcoming semi-autobiographical work, “Armageddon Time,” things are slightly more earthbound than “Ad Astra,” but they promise to be just as broad, if not broader in scope.
Set in the 1980s, “Armageddon Time” charts the misadventures of 12-year-old Paul Graff growing up with his rowdy family in Queens, New York. After he and his friend John Crocker, an African-American boy, are caught with “tea that makes you laugh” (marijuana), Paul’s parents transfer him to a private—and almost exclusively white—prep school (Donald Trump’s alma mater, as it happens). Dissatisfied with their lives, they soon concoct a plan to escape New York and run away to Florida.
The cast for “Armageddon Time” has gone through a few changes (Cate Blanchett was billed to play Donald Trump’s sister at one point; Robert De Niro and Oscar Isaac were also linked to the project), but it now officially includes Anne Hathaway, Anthony Hopkins, Jeremy Strong, and Michael Banks Repeta (‘Arvin at 9’ in “The Devil All the Time“).
READ MORE: Anne Hathaway & James Gray Define The ‘Armageddon’ In ‘Armageddon Time’ [Cannes]
This will be Gray’s fourth film to premiere at Cannes, with his Joaquin Phoenix-leading pictures “The Yards,” “We Own the Night,” and “Two Lovers” opening there in 2000, 2007, and 2008, respectively. Gray’s knack for creating gorgeous period pieces is undisputed at this point; and with one of the greatest living cinematographers on board for “Armageddon Time” in Darius Khondji (“Se7en,” “Uncut Gems,” and Gray’s 1920s New York drama “The Immigrant”), we can expect to see yet another—more personal—side of Gray’s beloved New York.
“Armageddon Time” hits theaters later this year. Watch the new trailer below: