After nearly a decade away from the director’s chair, Kenneth Lonergan (“Margaret,” “You Can Count On Me”) is finally setting up his next feature—and he’s doing it with a cast that should make the indie-film faithful sit up immediately.
READ MORE: 53 Must-See Films To Watch Summer 2026
Aubrey Plaza, Adam Driver, Vanessa Kirby, and Matthew Broderick are attached to star in “Tomorrow Is a Drag,” a new drama from the “Manchester by the Sea” writer-director, Variety reports. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the project is set in New York City and is expected to shoot this fall, according to Variety.
Lonergan has not directed a feature since “Manchester by the Sea,” his 2016 drama starring Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, and Lucas Hedges. The film became one of that year’s major awards players, earning Lonergan the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and landing six Oscar nominations overall, including Best Picture and Best Director. Before that, he directed “You Can Count on Me” and “Margaret,” two films whose reputations have only grown with time, particularly among viewers drawn to American dramas that are messy, deeply verbal, and emotionally precise.
“Tomorrow Is a Drag” also reunites Lonergan with a couple of familiar collaborators. Driver recently starred in the 2024 Off-Broadway revival of Lonergan’s play “Hold On to Me Darling,” while Broderick has a longer history with the filmmaker, including roles in “You Can Count on Me,” “Margaret,” and Lonergan’s stage work. Kirby and Plaza are new to the fold, at least on screen, and both suggest a slightly different charge for a Lonergan ensemble: Plaza’s deadpan edge and recent dramatic work, alongside Kirby’s controlled intensity, could make for a fascinating fit within his brand of comic discomfort and buried grief.
Sara Murphy will produce the film through Fat City. No distributor or release date has been announced yet.
Lonergan’s films tend to take their time, both onscreen and off, but the scarcity is part of the weight. In a marketplace where “adult drama” often feels like a euphemism for something small and underfunded, a new Lonergan film with this cast is exactly the kind of Cannes-market news worth celebrating.
