When will the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike begin to affect 2024’s theatrical release calendar? Well, it won’t be this coming winter, as Deadline reports that Focus Features adds another new release to their distribution schedule. And as February releases go, a new film penned by Diablo Cody will surely do well in theaters then.
READ MORE: Diablo Cody To Write ‘Lisa Frankenstein’ Starring Cole Sprouse & Kathryn Newton
“Lisa Frankenstein” is Cody’s first screenplay since 2018’s “Tully” and the directorial debut of Zelda Williams, daughter of the late, great Robin Williams. And like most of Cody’s work, the film is a teen-driven comedy with a horror twist. The film follows a teenage loner and her high school crush, a handsome corpse brought back to life. After the corpse reanimates, the need to find a way to make their relationship work, and that may or may not involve a little bit of murder. That sounds like “Warm Bodies” mixed with Cody’s usual tetchy humor, so fans of the scribe should be excited for this one.
Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse star in “Lisa Frankenstein,” with supporting roles for Liza Soberano, Henry Eikenberry, Joe Chrest, and Carla Gugino. Cody also co-produces the film with Mason Novick, as she did on “Tully,” “Young Adult,” “Jennifer’s Body,” and “Juno.” For those who don’t remember, Cody snagged the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for “Juno,” and she’s been riding that success ever since. While her sophomore script “Jennifer’s Body” didn’t do well with critics initially, it now has a cult following. But Cody’s directorial debut, 2013’s “Paradise,” flopped hard, so she sticks exclusively to screenwriting now.
Focus has “Lisa Frankenstein” penciled in for a February 9, 2024 theatrical release. That’s two weeks before Ethan Coen‘s “Drive-Away Dolls,” which Focus delayed this summer to next winter, hits theaters. Will there be more release date shuffling as February 2024 approaches? Stay tuned on that. If that happens, Universal will have a say in the matter, as they handle the overseas distribution for “Lisa Frankenstein.”
Check out a sneak preview on X for “Lisa Frankenstein” below, which makes the film look like a cutesy and morbid rom-com. There’ll surely be an audience for that in the theatrical dog days of deep winter.
