Those familiar with Harry Styles likely know him best for his musical career, be it with One Direction or as a solo artist. However, Styles delved into the acting world for the first time in 2017 when he played a soldier named Alex in the Christopher Nolan-directed World War II movie Dunkirk. Three years later, Styles has finally landed his next movie, and it’ll see him working with director Olivia Wilde.
After making her making her directorial debut with last year’s critically acclaimed coming-of-age comedy Booksmart, the House and Tron: Legacy actress is helming a psychological thriller titled Don’t Worry, Darling next. Olivia Wilde will also have a key supporting role in the movie, and originally the plan was for one of her costars to be Shia LaBeouf, who most recently starred in Honey Boy, The Peanut Butter Falcon and The Tax Collector.
However, Deadline reports that Shia LaBeouf has dropped out of Don’t Worry, Darling due to a scheduling conflict, and Harry Styles will replace him. Styles will perform alongside Black Widow’s Florence Pugh and Wonder Woman 1984’s Chris Pine, both of whom signed on earlier this year. Booksmart screenwriter Katie Silberman reunited with Wilde to pen the Don’t Worry, Darling script, which is based on a spec script by Shane and Carey Van Dyke. Wilde and Silberman are also tackling a Marvel movie reportedly centered on Spider-Woman.
Although it was announced back in August 2019 that Olivia Wilde was tackling Don’t Worry, Darling, no specific plot information has come out. All we know is that it’s set in an isolated, utopian community in the 1950s California desert. So it’s hard to say who Harry Styles or any of his fellow actors will be playing for now, but with New Line Cinema labeling Don’t Worry, Darling as a “high priority,” ideally we’ll learn such details sooner rather than later.
As for how Harry Styles boarded Don’t Worry, Darling, Deadline’s article noted how the executives at Warner Bros (of which New Line Cinema is a part of) were “blown away” by his Dunkirk performance and had been looking for the “next thing” for him. Styles reportedly impressed Olivia Wilde and Florence Pugh during an initial meeting, and from there, the pieces fell into place for him to sign on.
While Don’t Worry, Darling will mark Harry Styles’ second movie (outside of appearing as himself in two documentaries and a concert film), there was a time where there was a different major motion picture looking to snag the singer. In summer 2019, it was reported that Disney was eyeing Styles to play Prince Eric in the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, but he ended up turning down the role because he wanted to focus on his music. Instead, World on Fire’s Jonah Hauer-King will play Eric opposite Halle Bailey’s Ariel.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more news on how Don’t Worry, Darling is progressing. You can learn what movies are expected to hit theaters in the near future with our 2020 release schedule and 2021 release schedule.
