Based on her own recollections as a shy film student growing up in the 1980s of Margaret Thatcher’s U.K., Joanna Hogg’s coming-of-age drama “The Souvenir” starring Honor Swinton Byrne and her mother Tilda Swinton, quickly became one of our favorite films of 2019 so far, when it was released earlier this year. The filmmaker’s stunning and intimate drama lived up to the immense buzz coming out of Sundance and struck a chord with all cineastes. Acclaimed indie studio A24 so admired the idea of working with Hogg; they greenlit a sequel to the film—executive produced by another admirer, Martin Scorsese—from the jump. A continuation of the story around privileged student Julie (Byrne), and the aftermath of her destructive relationship, “The Souvenir Part II” was initially intended to co-star Robert Pattinson. That, unfortunately, didn’t come to pass.
Less than a month after “The Souvenir” arrived in theaters, the sequel hit a snag: Pattinson had to drop out of the project due to scheduling conflicts (he had been cast in Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” and just signed on to star as the Caped Crusader in Matt Reeves’ “The Batman“), leaving the status of the film in flux. Filling those shoes wouldn’t be easy, and apparently, Hogg didn’t even try, according to sources close to the production, revising the movie instead.
READ MORE: The Best Films Of 2019… So Far
Insiders tell us Hogg has slightly reimagined her “The Souvenir” sequel and instead of replacing Pattinson with one actor, the character has, in essence, become two separate characters, which will be played by Harris Dickinson (“Beach Rats“) and Charlie Heaton (“Stranger Things“), respectively. In addition, we’ve also confirmed that Joe Alwyn (“The Favourite“) has joined the cast, in a separate and unnamed role.
Dickinson is probably best known for his role in the recent FX series “Trust,” as well as his roles in films like “Beach Rats,” “Matthias & Maxime,” and “The Darkest Minds.” However, the future for Dickinson looks incredibly bright, as he has landed starring roles in the upcoming films “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil,” as well as the lead in the forthcoming “The King’s Man,” which is the prequel to the popular ‘Kingsman’ spy franchise.
The other male lead, Charlie Heaton, exploded on the scene in 2016 thanks to his role in the Netflix hit series “Stranger Things.” Since then, he’s returned for two more seasons of the genre series and is expected to star in the upcoming superhero horror film “New Mutants” (that is, if the movie ever comes out).
Another new actor joining the production is Alwyn. After a star-making role in Ang Lee’s “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk,” the young actor followed that up with great performances in three of last year’s most critically-acclaimed films, “The Favourite,” “Boy Erased,” and “Mary Queen of Scots.” And later this year, he’s expected to land in the awards conversation once again with his role in the biopic “Harriet.”
Film fans were likely disappointed when Pattinson had to drop out of “The Souvenir” sequel, but with the addition of these three young actors, it would appear that Joanna Hogg’s upcoming drama is going to have its fair share of quality performances. “The Souvenir Part II” just wrapped filming a few weeks ago and is expected to be released by A24 sometime in 2020. – Reporting by Rodrigo Perez
![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://theplaylist.net/charlie-heaton-harris-dickinson-joe-alwyn-souvenir-20190813/&media=https://cdn.theplaylist.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/14202528/Charlie-Heaton-Harris-Dickinson-Joe-Alwyn-Replace-Robert-Pattinson-In-Joanna-Hogg%E2%80%99s-Upcoming-%E2%80%98Souvenir%E2%80%99-Sequel.jpg&description=Robert Pattinson may have dropped out of "The Souvenir," but a trio of actors have stepped up into the sequel: Harris Dickinson, Charlie Heaton & Joe Alwyn.){kind=link}