Meg Ryan has signed on to helm and star alongside David Duchovny in the upcoming romantic comedy, What Happens Later. The movie is based on playwright-theater director Steven Dietz’s 2008 play, Shooting Star, Deadline is reporting.
The actress-filmmaker also announced the news yesterday in a post on Instagram. In the post, she shared the comedy’s poster, which she captioned: “Here We Go!!”
Bleecker Street has picked up U.S. rights to the movie, which it’s planning to release in theaters next year. HanWay Films will handle the project’s international sales, and launch the title at the Cannes Film Festival this month.
The upcoming feature comes after Ryan became a household name in the late 1980s and 1990s, during which time she starred in such successful rom-coms as When Harry Met Sally…, Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail. She later made her feature film directorial debut on the 2015 drama, Ithaca.
What Happens Later will follow ex-lovers Willa (Ryan) and Bill (Duchovny) as they reunite for the first time since they parted ways decades earlier when they find themselves snowed in, in-transit, at an airport overnight. Willa is still the wilful, independent spirit she once was, and doesn’t have any ties. Bill, meanwhile, is recently separated, and is reassessing his life and his relationships with his estranged wife and daughter.
All the former couple initially wants is to just get home. But over the course of the night, however, they become reluctantly drawn back together and compelled to revisit their past, as they question what could have been and what might be again. When the versions of their shared history don’t quite add up, they wonder where they go from there.
The project, which Dietz co-wrote with Ryan and playwright-novelist, Kirk Lynn, is being produced by Independent Spirit Award winners Jonathan Duffy and Kelly Williams through their company, Ten Acre Films. Kerri Elder and Blake Elder of Rockhill Studios are serving as executive producers on the feature with Bleecker Street’s Andrew Karpen and Kent Sanderson.
While discussing What Happens Next, the producers said: “We couldn’t be more thrilled to have the incredible teams at Bleecker Street and HanWay alongside us as we bring this special story to the screen. We believe it’s a look at life and love that audiences the world over will relate to and hunger for in these uncertain times when connection and reconciliation feel more important than ever.”
Bleecker Street CEO Andrew Karpen added: “To be part of this team, bringing such a popular play to the big screen is a genuine privilege. We are beyond fortunate that the project is in the hands of one of the most gifted romantic comedy actors of her generation. Combined with the talent of her co-stars and producers, we are honored to be on this journey and look forward to sharing the experience with audiences next year.”
The U.S. deal was negotiated by Sanderson and Avy Eschenasy on behalf of Bleecker Street. Production on the movie is scheduled to begin later this year in Bentonville, Arkansas.