Wes Anderson's 'The French Dispatch' Will Open In Theaters In October, After Playing Cannes And The New York Film Festival

Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch has a new release date: October! The latest Anderson ensemble was due out last year, but we all know how things turned out for most films due out in 2020. Anderson's pic was also supposed to play at the Cannes Film Festival last year, but when Cannes got Cannes-celed, those plans went down the toilet as well. But The French Dispatch will have its day at Cannes this year – and it's playing the New York Film Festival, too.

The French Dispatch was one of my most anticipated movies of last year, and then last year's movie season was blown to smithereens. Thankfully, the movies seem to be back in 2021, and so is The French Dispatch. Searchlight has announced that the latest Wes Anderson extravaganza will arrive in theaters on October 22, 2021. Before that, though, it'll play the 74th Festival de Cannes and the 59th New York Film Festival.The French Dispatch "brings to life a collection of stories from the final issue of an American magazine published in a fictional 20th-century French city."

"The story is not easy to explain," Anderson previously said. "[It's about an] American journalist based in France [who] creates his magazine. It is more a portrait of this man, of this journalist who fights to write what he wants to write. It's not a movie about freedom of the press, but when you talk about reporters you also talk about what's going on in the real world."

As is his style, Anderson has put together a large ensemble cast to bring his latest fantasy to life. That cast includes Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet, Lyna Khoudri, Jeffrey Wright, Mathieu Amalric, Stephen Park, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Liev Schreiber, Edward Norton, Willem Dafoe, Saoirse Ronan, Jason Schwartzman, and Anjelica Huston.

This will be Anderson's first live-action movie since 2014's The Grand Budapest Hotel, and while I appreciate Anderson's occasional forays into stop-motion, I'm always more excited for his live-action work. I also thought his most recent film, Isle of Dogs, was a bit lacking, so I'm hoping The French Dispatch is a return to form. No matter how it turns out, I'm sure it'll be a visually appealing experience, as all Anderson movies are, regardless of quality. I'm guessing we'll get a new trailer for the film now that it has a new release date, so keep your eyes peeled for that, folks.