Jenna Ortega Takes the Wheel in Leos Carax’s Dystopian Road Epic — Everything We Know So Far
Wednesday star Jenna Ortega will lead Leos Carax’s dystopian road movie Lily May B, with first details now out.
So, here’s a rather intriguing bit of news out of Cannes: Jenna Ortega – yes, Wednesday herself – is teaming up with one of French cinema’s true oddballs, Leos Carax, for his next film. And if you know Carax even slightly (he’s the bloke who made Annette, that absolutely unhinged musical with Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard), then you’ll know this is no run-of-the-mill project. Strap in: it’s a dystopian road movie called Lily May B, and from the looks of it, it’s going to be absolutely bonkers in the best possible way.
What’s the film actually about?
Details are, as of now, dripping out slowly – but here’s what they’ve shared so far. The story follows a little girl, a young woman (that’ll be Ortega’s role), and a young boy, all of whom are apparently lugging around massive secrets – nothing light and fluffy here, obviously. These three end up together in some post-apocalyptic wasteland and decide the best thing to do is get on a motorbike and set off through deserted motorways, empty cities, and, in their words, ‘immemorial forests’. Frankly, sounds a bit like Mad Max if it got lost in the French countryside after taking too much cough medicine.
The official synopsis is pretty poetic (or cryptic, depending how much sleep you’ve had): the trio faces all sorts of danger and keeps going, searching for themselves, or, as the blurb puts it, "in search of a place to B, maybe?" Make of that what you will – clearly, Carax isn’t giving up all his cards just yet.
Cast & Characters: What do we know?
- Jenna Ortega – Playing the lead (presumably Lily, though the film likes to keep things vague).
- Two additional central characters: Dima (mentioned in some early concept art) and an unnamed young girl – both will be cast, but names are under wraps until September.
If you’re wondering about Ortega’s credentials, she’s not exactly short on genre experience. Between Netflix’s Wednesday, the recent Scream films, and that Beetlejuice sequel on the way, she knows her way around the weird, the gothic, and the slightly demented.
Behind the Scenes: Who’s making this thing?
Leos Carax is directing. If you’ve managed to catch his earlier stuff – Boy Meets Girl, Bad Blood, Pola X – you know he’s got a style you can’t quite pin down. His last film, Annette, literally had Adam Driver singing about eating sandwiches; Carax doesn’t do boring.
The film’s being produced by Hugo Sélignac and his company, Chi-Fou-Mi Productions. Sélignac sounds genuinely giddy about the project, saying:
To me, Leos Carax is one of the reasons I fell in love with cinema. Having the chance to embark on this first journey alongside him means a great deal to me. Lily May B carries forward his singular vision with the freedom, raw emotion, and visual power that are uniquely his. Seeing this universe meet Jenna Ortega’s immense talent today feels simply natural.
There’s also some early concept art floating around, if you’re into a first glimpse. It shows the three characters sat under a dead tree next to their motorcycle – all looking rather existential, as you’d expect.
Release Date & What’s Next
A weird twist here: they’re announcing this at Cannes in 2026, but shooting doesn’t actually start until Spring 2027. Which is, frankly, an absurd lead time, but it might give Carax enough leeway to dream up something genuinely mental. In any case, more cast details will drop in September, so expect another round of slightly enigmatic press releases then.
Carax has described this latest film as dreamlike, and apparently, according to him: "Once upon a time, this is what destroyed us, and this is what kept us alive." If that’s not classic French arthouse cryptic, I don’t know what is.