At long last, Andrew Patterson‘s sophomore feature, “The Rivals Of Amziah King,” arrives in theaters today via Black Bear, over a year after its buzzy world premiere at SXSW 2025. Many critics loved Patterson’s film starring Matthew McConaughey, Kurt Russell, and newcomer Angelina LookingGlass, including The Playlist: we gave the movie an “A” grade in our review, just as we did with Patterson’s feature debut, “The Vast Of Night.”
However, more than half a decade passed between the two films’ releases, and during that time, the upstart Patterson received several offers from big names to make other projects. The director spoke to TheWrap about some of those offers, as well as other script ideas he had before deciding on “Amziah King,” and some of the names that approached Patterson may raise eyebrows. But they shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who’ve seen “The Vast Of Night,” a visually articulate, nimbly directed debut that takes its “The Twilight Zone” setup into beguiling, meta-textual territory.
In that sense, it makes sense that J.J. Abrams and Bad Robot approached Patterson about making a new “Cloverfield” movie, but he declined because he worried it would take a long time to develop. A similar mindset must have driven him to decline various studios’ offers to helm franchise films. Even Steven Soderbergh reached out to Patterson and asked him to direct a movie for him, “a big one” that Patterson didn’t name. Patterson also turned that offer down, however, he “told [Soderbergh] I wanted to step up to something like that.” A Patterson-Soderbergh team-up? That sounds better than Patterson’s already distinct voice getting lost in franchise filmmaking.
But what sort of original ideas did Patterson have for his second feature after “The Vast Of Night”? He wrote a pitch for a new version of “Invasion Of The Body Snatchers” that Patterson still loves; “I still think it’s a fantastic idea,” he told the outlet. He also had the option to return to the “Paradox Theater” framing device of his first movie, but Patterson believed it was too soon. “You can do whatever you want,” the director said about making another one-off story in that format. “It needs to be far enough away that we appreciate what we’re doing the second time out, so that it’s not just like a cash grab.”
Ultimately, Patterson chose to pen “Amziah King,” which he described as writing “in a way that looked almost reckless in terms of what I would want to see in a movie.” Patterson brought the script to producer David Heyman, who promised the director he’d finance his next feature after screening “The Vast Of Night,” and the pair waited, patiently, for the right conditions to make the film come along. They did once McConaughey boarded the project, and Patterson praised the actor’s consideration of his vision. “Matthew was the great creative collaborator on this movie, mostly because he always wanted to define what was going on under the hood of this narrative at all times,” Patterson said about McConaughey. “He would say things to me like, ‘Look, whether you know it or not, this movie is about a princess becoming a queen. How can we make sure in every single scene of this movie we underline that?’”
Now it’s time to see how audiences respond to “Amziah King,” not just for the commercial and further critical response, but on how said responses will influence Patterson’s choice for his next project. Patterson admitted that he has “a number of scripts on stand-by,” including a “mishappen” true-crime movie set in the 1960s and ’70s that he compares to David Fincher‘s “Zodiac.” In a phrase, very enticing. But Patterson has intimate projects similar to “The Vast Of Night” in mind too, as well as projects set internationally with a larger scope.
Wherever his career goes next, however, Patterson will make sure it’s to a studio or production circumstances that do not compromise his creativity. Patterson likens himself a “scrappy filmmaker,” and confessed he would “need the kind of place that gives you room to try things. Maybe fall on your face. Maybe have an edit that’s too long.” He envisions the ideal place to be with a studio or producer that would primarily be an artistic “patron,” in his word, but he’s not “running towards a novel or a video game or a theme park ride” to make that happen. No, IP or a major franchise isn’t the place for you, Mr. Patterson. Let’s hope this director finds a place where he may thrive, because if his first two films are any indication, Patterson will be an important cinematic voice for years to come.
Watch the trailer for “The Rivals Of Amziah King” below.
