The Coen Brothers have not directed a film together since 2018’s The Ballad of Buster Scruggs for Netflix. Since then, the legendary duo of Joel and Ethan have been making films separately. But fear not! The brothers are soon going to reunite behind the camera and, what’s more, it’s a horror movie that will be getting them back together. Details are currently slim, but the news comes directly from Ethan Coen.
As reported by World of Reel, Ethan Coen and his Drive Away Dolls collaborator/co-writer Tricia Cooke recently held a Master Class conversation put on by the Tromso International Film Festival in Norway. During that conversation, Ethan confirmed that he and Joel have written a new script together, and they apparently intend to direct it in the near future. Here’s what he had to say about it:
“It's a pure horror film, and it gets very bloody. If you like Blood Simple, I think you'll enjoy it.”
There is a lot to process here. For one, the Coens haven’t dabbled much in overt horror over the years so the fact that a genre picture is what’s getting them back together is noteworthy. It’s also worth pointing out that Ethan Coen recently spoke with Empire Magazine and stated that he and Joel were “working on writing something” together. So this is not the first we’ve heard of the filmmakers collaborating with one another again.
As for what the movie might be about? That, for now, remains wholly mysterious. Though Cooke did say that the script is “horribly funny.” So a dark, bloody horror/comedy directed by the Coen Brothers? That sounds pretty enticing. The only downside is that both Joel and Ethan Coen may have other projects to wrap up first before they can truly get this one off the ground.
The report notes that Joel might have to finish another project first, but that project was not named. Joel most recently directed 2021’s The Tragedy of MacBeth. Ethan, meanwhile, has Drive Away Dolls coming out later this year, and he is also attached to direct a comedy titled Honey Don’t! that appears to be coming together quickly. So, worst-case scenario, this mysterious horror film would have to wait until those projects are in the books. Stay tuned as we’ll surely be learning more sooner rather than later.
Drive Away Dolls is set to hit theaters on February 23.
