Fresh off her Oscar win for Anora, Mikey Madison has made her first big move — and it’s anything but conventional. Rather than leaping into the nearest franchise juggernaut or high-profile studio vehicle, Madison is opting for something stranger and far less predictable: Reptilia, a surreal thriller from Monos director Alejandro Landes Echavarría. She’ll star alongside Kirsten Dunst in the upcoming feature, which is expected to generate buzz at the Cannes Film Market.
Reptilia follows a dental hygienist who becomes entangled with an enigmatic mermaid, pulling her deep into the murky world of Florida’s exotic animal trade. Landes Echavarría co-wrote the screenplay with Duke Merriman, and filming is slated to begin this autumn. It’s a project that sounds part fairy tale, part fever dream — and exactly the kind of risk that rising indie stars take when they follow instinct over industry pressure.
Though Madison’s name has recently been linked to a string of blockbuster possibilities — including a now-declined role opposite Ryan Gosling in Shawn Levy’s Star Wars film and a lead in Zach Cregger’s upcoming Resident Evil reboot — it’s telling that she’s chosen a story as offbeat as Reptilia to shape her post-Oscar narrative.
Before Anora launched her into the spotlight, Madison was best known for her role in Better Things, and for appearing in Scream (2022) and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. With Reptilia, she seems determined to chart her own path.
