Director Richard Linklater is on a tear right now, with four movies in four years, including two in 2025: “Blue Moon” and “Nouvelle Vague.” And according to his close friend and frequent leading man Ethan Hawke, Linklater has no plans to slow down, with his next movie a long-gestating passion project Hawke now declares “will be among the greatest films ever made.”
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Of course, the project in question is Linklater’s American Transcendentalist hangout film the director spoke about to Filmmaker Magazine last November. Set to shoot this year, the film would focus on the Concord and Cambridge, MA residents that Linklater deems “the hippies of the 1830s and 40s.” “I’ve been researching this for 20-something years, so I think it’s time,” said the director. “Natalie Portman wants to play Margaret Fuller. She’s perfect. Ethan will be Emerson. Oscar Isaac…. I think it might be coming together.” Portman and Isaac have never worked with Linklater before either, so that’s an additional bit of buzz for this project, too.
However, now it’s Hawke’s turn to promote the film, and his hype for his tenth team-up with Linklater is bold, and borderline hyperbole. “Everything has been in preparation for what’s to come. The 10th is going to be the best,” the actor told Today. “I’m not even nervous about saying it. We’ve been thinking about this movie since about 1998. He’s been thinking about it longer than that. He’s had this dream for a long time in his head, and it’s going to be good. Personally, I believe it will be among the greatest films ever made.”
Now, a “Dazed and Confused” starring the likes of Emerson, Thoreau, and Fuller sounds cool, but also very niche; even if it’s excellent, it appeals to a cult audience, not unlike Linklater’s most recent hangout film, 2016’s “Everybody Wants Some!!” But while Hawke’s comments may be exaggerated, it’s hard to bet against Linklater and his extraordinary and diverse filmography. Add in the star power of Hawke, Portman, and Isaac (and whomever else inevitably joins the cast), and this does have the makings of a very special film. Maybe not among the best movies of all time, but it will certainly make a case for one of the best of the year it premieres.
But when will Linklater’s Transcendentalist hangout film reach audiences? Said Hawke after his previous statements, “We’re shooting it [in 2026] and I’ll be back on your show in about 18 months to back it up.” In other words, expect a 2027 festival premiere for this project, perhaps at the Berlinale or the Croisette in Cannes. Stay tuned for more details.
