Brady Corbet is riding high off The Brutalist's critical acclaim, and he's not slowing down. The director has lined up Cate Blanchett and Selena Gomez for his next film, described as an "X-rated epic" that's already generating significant buzz at Cannes.
Let's address the elephant in the room: Blanchett and Gomez is not a pairing anyone saw coming. One is a two-time Oscar winner known for prestige dramas and playing Bob Dylan. The other rose to fame on the Disney Channel and became a pop superstar. On paper, it sounds like a casting director's fever dream. In Corbet's hands? It might be genius.
Corbet has proven he can handle ambitious, unwieldy projects. The Brutalist was a sprawling, three-and-a-half-hour examination of art, ambition, and American identity. It divided critics and fascinated audiences in equal measure. An "X-rated epic" suggests he's doubling down on challenging material that won't play it safe.
The "X-rated" designation is intriguing. In modern parlance, that likely means sexually explicit content that's integral to the story, not gratuitous. Corbet isn't making exploitation films—he's making capital-A Art that happens to include content that would make the MPAA uncomfortable.
Gomez has been actively pursuing more mature, challenging roles. She was excellent in Only Murders in the Building and has shown she can handle comedy with dramatic undertones. Pairing her with Blanchett under Corbet's direction could be the project that finally gets her taken seriously as a dramatic actress.
