Angelina Jolie’s ‘Maria,’ ‘Queer’ Starring Daniel Craig and Johnny Depp-Directed ‘Modì’ Eyed for Lineup
![Venice Film Festival Potential Lineup](https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/venice-lineup.jpg?w=1000&h=666&crop=1)
The upcoming Venice Film Festival is shaping up to be a star-studded affair.
Lady Gaga, Joaquin Phoenix, Angelina Jolie, Daniel Craig, Johnny Depp, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Gal Gadot and Ana de Armas among top Hollywood talents likely to be launching high-profile titles from the Lido.
Though festival chief Alberto Barbera has yet to see several submitted works that are likely to make the cut, a clutch of globally buzzy movies have already secured a coveted Venice berth, though some of the more mainstream entries will probably be bowing out-of-competition.
“Joker 2: Folie à Deux,” Todd Phillips’ edgy musical sequel to his 2019 Golden Lion prizewinning “Joker,” starring Gaga and Phoenix, is a competition shoo-in, along with Pablo Larraín’s Maria Callas biopic “Maria,” starring Jolie in the title role.
Also believed to be locked into a Venice competition berth is Luca Guadagnino’s William S. Burroughs adaptation “Queer,” in which Daniel Craig plays the renowned counterculture author’s alter ego, an outcast American expat who lives in Mexico and is fighting a heroin addiction. “Outer Banks” star Drew Starkey also stars as a younger man with whom the expat becomes madly infatuated.
Last year, Guadagnino’s tennis love triangle movie “Challengers” had been set to open Venice out-of-competition, before being pulled from the festival due to promotional complications prompted by the SAG-AFTRA strike.
Also in the mix are Jon Watts-directed action comedy “Wolfs,” pairing Clooney and Pitt as two lone-wolf fixers forced to work together in covering up a high-profile crime, and Ron Howard’s survival thriller “Eden” starring Jude Law, Ana de Armas, Sydney Sweeney, Vanessa Kirby and Daniel Brühl. But both of these titles will probably end up outside the competition rather than vie for the Golden Lion.
Johnny Depp
Meanwhile, the rich roster of international films strongly tipped for Venice includes Mike Leigh’s “Hard Truths” and Walter Salles’ “I’m Still Here.”
Venice remains the top destination for both streamers and studios aiming to build Oscar campaigns.
As previously announced, Isabelle Huppert will preside over the jury.
The 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival will run August 28-September 7.