There’s good news and bad news and good news in the world of “Behemoth!,” Tony Gilroy’s follow-up film to his critically acclaimed “Star Wars” series “Andor.” The good news is the rumors are true: Searchlight Pictures is coming on board to finance and produce the picture, which is good because Gilroy called the movie expensive and was worried it may not get made. The bad news is the rumors are also true: Oscar Isaac (“Moon Knight,” “Scenes From A Marriage”) has had to drop out of the picture due to scheduling conflicts.
The last bit of good news is welcome, though. Gilroy has already found a potential replacement in man-of-the-moment Pedro Pascal, who is highly sought after and is coming off both “The Fantastic Four,” the second season of the heralded “The Last Of Us” HBO series, Ari Aster’s neo-Western thriller, “Eddington,” and Celine Song’s “Materialists.” There’s a straightforward argument to be made that 2025 has already found its actor of the year in the highly in-demand Pascal.
Apparently, no deal is currently in place, but Pascal is interested and talks are heading in the right direction, according to Deadline. Pascal is currently shooting “Avengers: Doomsday” and will appear in the sequel, “Avengers: Secret Wars.” He has already shot his part of the “Star Wars” movie, “The Mandalorian & Grogu,” due in 2026.
Told in flashbacks, “Behemoth!” centers on a child prodigy cellist and studio musician who composes music for films in Hollywood. Upon his belated return to L.A. after a long exodus away from the business, he is triggered by a rush of memories from his traumatic past.
“I’m dying to make this movie. It’s a movie about movie music. It’s a movie about scoring [movies]” Gilroy told The Playlist in an interview earlier this year, telling us that the character is a third-generation studio musician whose been a nomadic gun for hire for 20 years and then returns to L.A.
“I’ve been obsessed with movie music since they let me have a hand in it,” he continued, “So I’m really into this. [However], it’s very financially difficult; we’re way more expensive than one would hope, so that’s the trick, but I’m still hopeful and I’d love to make it.”
“The whole movie is surfing on music. And you find out through the flashbacks why he left [L.A.],” Gilroy explained, sharing the film’s first public details. “‘Behemoth!’ is the fake name of this huge movie at the end. It has to shoot in L.A. and feature live musicians. It’s very expensive, but a lot of people want to help because it’s shooting in L.A., which is a coral reef about to die.”
Gilroy himself is a former musician who almost made it as a session guitarist in L.A. before turning to screenwriting in his thirties.
Isaac dropping out must be a bummer for Gilroy. The writer/director had initially eyed him for the lead of “The Bourne Ultimatum.” However, the studio demanded a bigger star than Isaac, who was still relatively unknown then, so the actor was relegated to a smaller part instead.
Still, Pascal can only be seen as an upgrade given the skyrocketing nature of his career trajectory; he’s arguably the hottest up-and-coming actor on the rise to becoming a superstar on the planet.
Gilroy and his “Andor” partner, Sanne Wohlenberg, will produce the movie. The writer/director is coming off an impressive 14 Emmy nominations for the second season of “Andor,” including Best Outstanding Drama Series. Pascal has three Emmy nominations to his name, including one for “The Mandalorian” and two for “The Last Of Us.”
Fingers crossed this deal gets made so the film can get off the blocks and headed towards production soon.
