At a Cannes Film Festival masterclass on Sunday, Cate Blanchett casually revealed she was working on a next film with Oscar-nominated director and helmer Brady Corbet of The Brutalist fame.
Variety confirmed what InSneider had already reported — Selena Gomez is starring alongside Michael Fassbender, with her casting marking a bold addition to an already powerful cast. For a feature film of this scale, having Gomez star in a movie beside Blanchett and Fassbender says everything about where her film career stands today.
Quick facts
- Selena Gomez, Cate Blanchett, and Michael Fassbender have been cast in Brady Corbet’s new untitled X-rated film, confirmed by Variety and first reported by InSneider.
- The film is possibly titled “The Origin of the World”, spans 150 years from the 19th century to the present day, focuses heavily on the 1970s, explores Northern California’s economy, and will be shot entirely on 70mm.
- The script is 200 pages long — longer than The Brutalist’s 165-page script — making it Corbet’s most ambitious project yet, produced by Andrew Morrison under Kaplan Morrison and serving as Corbet’s fourth feature.
- Corbet has denied all misinformation, specifically dismissing any connection to Texas Chain Saw Massacre, while describing the film as truly genre-defying with no official release date confirmed yet.
The Origin of the World: What We Know So Far
Brady Corbet’s untitled X-rated film is already turning heads, and Selena Gomez landing a spot in its cast alongside Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender makes it even harder to ignore.
While characters and finer details remain under wraps, Variety reports that rumors point to the project possibly being called The Origin of the World — though nothing is official yet. What we do know is that the plot spans an ambitious 150 years, stretching from the 19th century to the present day, with a heavy focus on the 1970s.
Corbet himself confirmed back in November that the story will explore Northern California’s economy in some capacity — a detail that, from my reading of his work, feels very much in line with his taste for layered, historically grounded narratives. The movie will also be shot entirely on 70mm, and features Fassbender in a key role, making this one of the most compelling projects quietly building momentum right now.
A 200-Page Script and Corbet’s Most Ambitious Project Yet
At the Storyhouse Screenwriting Festival in Dublin last month, Corbet revealed that his new film — the one Selena Gomez is now attached to — will be lengthy, built on a 200-page script, which is substantial even by his own standards. By comparison, The Brutalist ran on a 165-page script and still clocked a three-and-a-half hour runtime.
Andrew Morrison is producing the project under his Kaplan Morrison production banner, and it will serve as Corbet’s fourth feature — following The Childhood of a Leader in 2015, Vox Lux in 2018, and then The Brutalist. Every time Corbet steps behind the camera, the stakes feel higher than the last — and from everything surfacing about this one, that pattern isn’t breaking anytime soon.
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Corbet Sets the Record Straight
The director has been quick to shut down speculations surrounding his upcoming movie, clarifying that much of what’s been reported is simply misinformation — yes, the new film is X-rated, and yes, it stretches across time from the 19th century all the way into the present day with its heart sitting firmly in the 1970s, though any connection to Texas Chain Saw Massacre is something Corbet has completely dismissed. Corbet describes it as truly genre-defying, which, having followed his career, feels entirely believable.
Where the Cast Stands Today
As for the cast, Cate Blanchett was most recently seen in the 2025 comedy-drama Father Mother Sister Brother and starred in Black Bag, while Gomez came off a career-high with Emilia Pérez in 2024 and continues her run on Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building since 2021 — two performers at the very top of their game heading into this movie together. The ’70s-set film still has no official release date window confirmed yet.
