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Daniel Day-Lewis May Have Unretired For A New Project – And He Looks Unrecognizable [Updated]

Phantom Thread movie Daniel Day-Lewis Focus Features
By Ryan Scott

Update, 5:20pm ET on 10/1/2024: Focus Features has confirmed that Daniel Day-Lewis is coming out of retirement to star in a new film called "Anemone," co-written by Daniel Day-Lewis and his son, Ronan Day-Lewis. Ronan, a painter and visual artist, will make his feature directorial debut with this project, and the movie will co-star Sean Bean, Samantha Morton, Samuel Bottomley, and Safia Oakley-Green. Ben Fordesman ("Love Lies Bleeding") will serve as the director of photography, Jane Petrie ("The Crown") is the costume designer, while Chris Oddy ("Zone of Interest") will be the movie's production designer. "Anemone" will explore "the intricate relationships between fathers, sons and brothers, and the dynamics of familial bonds." Focus Features and Plan B are partnering on the original movie, and Universal Pictures International will distribute the film. Our original story from this morning follows below.

This is not a drill: Daniel Day-Lewis, one of the greatest actors of his generation (or likely any generation) has seemingly returned to acting. This is rather surprising, given that the Oscar-winner had retired seven years ago after giving his supposedly final performance in Paul Thomas Anderson's "Phantom Thread." Well, apparently, Day-Lewis has had a change of heart and is returning for a currently mysterious new film called "Avelyn."

The Daily Mail was the first to report the news, sharing photos of Day-Lewis filming some scenes for "Avelyn." As seen in the above photos, the actor is rocking some facial hair and riding on a motorcycle. Accompanying him on said motorcycle is none other than Sean Bean of "The Lord of the Rings" and "Game of Thrones" fame. Very little has been revealed about the film, although the report notes that Bean is "thought to be playing the role of an ex-soldier." Other than that, the project is a major mystery.

For the moment, we're left with a host of questions with precious few answers. Who is behind the camera for this mystery movie? How deep are they into production? Who else is starring in it? As mentioned, Day-Lewis retired following his Oscar-nominated performance in "Phantom Thread." At the time, he released a statement through his reps that made it clear he wasn't going to talk about his decision any further in public:

"Daniel Day-Lewis will no longer be working as an actor. He is immensely grateful to all of his collaborators and audiences over the many years. This is a private decision and neither he nor his representatives will make any further comment on this subject."

How did Avelyn get Daniel Day-Lewis to un-retire?

Lincoln movie Daniel Day-Lewis Disney

Day-Lewis is one of our most celebrated living actors. He has three Best Actor Oscars to his name for his work in "My Left Foot," "There Will Be Blood," and "Lincoln," a role that took Steven Spielberg years to get the actor to accept in the first place. Day-Lewis was also nominated for his work in "In the Name of the Father," "Gangs of New York," and "Phantom Thread." Part of the reason that Day-Lewis was so selective is that he fully commits himself to every part he takes on, going through great lengths to stay in character as a method actor.

This, at various points in his career, has taken a great toll on the actor. "The Boxer," in particular, was rather taxing on Day-Lewis. Speaking of "The Boxer," as recently as March of this year, director Jim Sheridan, who also worked with the actor on "My Left Foot" and "In the Name of the Father," told ScreenDaily that Day-Lewis was still very much committed to retirement. Here's what Sheridan had to say about it at the time:

"He says he's done. I keep talking to him. I'd love to do something with him again. He's like everybody else. He opens up the streamers and there's seven thousand choices, none of them are good. Film has been moved out of the public domain into a private domain –- you have a remote, you can stop it. It's not the same experience. It'd be great to see Daniel coming back and doing something because he's so good."

So who — or what — convinced Day-Lewis to un-retire? That's the million dollar question right now that many, many cinephiles will be seeking answers to in the coming days/weeks/months. No matter what, mysterious though it may be, this has become a most-anticipated movie by virtue of his involvement. 

"Avelyn" does not currently have a release date, so stay tuned.

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