Peter Dinklage and Renée Zellweger team up for a bizarre comedy about a billionaire living in 1923
Peter Dinklage is teaming with Renée Zellweger and Dominic Sessa on an upcoming Charlie Kaufman-like comedy-drama — and they’re not the only ones in the line-up.
Here's a blend I wasn't expecting: Peter Dinklage and Renée Zellweger teaming up for a new comedy-drama called Darlington, with production shifting to the UK and things set to kick off next spring. If that cast sounds a bit random, wait till you hear the premise.
Production on Darlington is planned for the UK and is expected to start in spring 2027.
The premise: What on earth is going on?
To start with, Dinklage is joining Zellweger — who has two Oscars to her name — and Dominic Sessa, a recent BAFTA nominee who's definitely picking up steam at the moment. And yes, if the director Sacha Gervasi sounds familiar, he did My Dinner with Hervé — and Dinklage was in that as well back in 2018. So that partnership is continuing.
The basic idea behind Darlington: Zellweger plays Kate Spencer, a washed-up actress who seems well and truly off the industry radar. Then, out of nowhere, an invitation lands in her lap — she can bring back her one iconic TV role. The catch? There's no reboot or streaming comeback on the cards.
Instead, weirdly enough, she gets this shot thanks to a socially awkward tech billionaire (Sessa), who has restored a grand old English estate to exactly how it looked in 1923. He's built himself a bizarre period-accurate bubble, wants nothing to do with the real world, and apparently, what he needs in there is a bit of a fading celebrity to play her part and keep up the illusion. Naturally, as Kate joins this bonkers arrangement, it's not long before reality and make-believe start blending in ways she hadn't bargained for.
The cast and crew shuffling the deck
Peter Dinklage is also on board, though the role is being kept quiet for now. (He's been busy, by the way — after Game of Thrones, he popped up in Idiots and Wicker, plus has voice roles coming in Steps and Lincoln in the Bardo, and a live-action turn in Lear Rex. Not exactly putting his feet up.) As for who's steering things in the background, Alison Owen and Debra Hayward are running point for Monumental Pictures, with Jim Garavente producing as well through Portobello Electric. Another big name crops up as Alexander Payne, who's on as an executive producer.
- Renée Zellweger as Kate Spencer – the faded actress dragged back to her famous role, only this time inside a fake 1920s England
- Dominic Sessa – reclusive tech billionaire, obsessed with 1923, living in a fantasy manor he's reconstructed from scratch
- Peter Dinklage – role not revealed, but likely something both odd and scene-stealing
As for timing: there's no official premiere date yet. But the film will be shopped internationally at the American Film Market, hoping to lock down more distribution before the cameras roll.