Cinema’s most enigmatic romantic is stirring once again. French auteur Leos Carax, known for crafting daring, dreamlike works at a glacial pace, is preparing to shoot his next feature in Paris, with production scheduled for 2026. While plot details remain, in true Carax fashion, entirely under wraps, some tantalising elements have surfaced: Adam Driver and Léa Seydoux are set to star, and a casting call is currently underway for a young girl to join the cast.
This is the first concrete sign of life from the project since producer Charles Gillibert hinted in an interview with Cahiers du Cinéma that Carax’s new film would boast a larger budget than Annette, which reportedly cost around $16 million. Given the filmmaker’s singular style, that could mean anything from visual operatics to some glorious logistical madness.
Carax last emerged in 2023 with It’s Not Me, a reflective 59-minute docu-fiction hybrid that premiered quietly at Cannes and later streamed on MUBI. Introspective and elusive, it was a work as self-aware as it was personal — something of a whispering before the next big swing.
Since his 1984 debut Boy Meets Girl, Carax has directed just six features, including Holy Motors, Mauvais sang, and The Lovers on the Bridge. Each film is a rare event, marked by boldness and invention.
