Over the course of the past 10 years, Vanessa Kirby has gone from a relatively unknown British actress to one of the biggest up-and-coming stars in the worlds of drama and action with star-making performances in Mission: Impossible - Fallout, The Crown, and a number of award-winning stage productions of classic plays by the likes of William Shakespeare, Arthur Miller, and Tennessee Williams. And on the eve of debut of the highly anticipated release of the new Netflix drama Pieces of a Woman, as well as Mission Impossible: 7 and other projects, Kirby's star looks to be rising even higher than ever before.
But what else does the actress who played Princes Margaret for two years, kicked ass alongside Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham in Hobbs & Shaw, and briefly portrayed Zelda Fitzgerald in Genius have coming up in the next year or so? Well, quite a bit, actually. Here are all the major roles you will see Vanessa Kirby take on in the very near future.
Pieces Of A Woman - December 30, 2020 (Completed)
Next up for Vanessa Kirby is the upcoming Netflix drama Pieces of a Woman, which follows Kirby's Martha Weiss and Shia LaBeouf's Sean Carson after the couple's at-home birth goes tragically wrong. Based on a stage play of the same name by director Kornél Mundruczó and screenwriter Kata Wéber, the upcoming film will take a look at a woman's journey through grief, heartache, and public attention as she is forced to face the midwife responsible for the tragedy in court. If the journey through the pits of personal hell and a deteriorating relationship with her husband aren't bad enough, Martha must also face her overbearing mother played by Academy Award-winning actress Ellen Burstyn.
Unlike a lot of movies we discuss in these types of pieces, Pieces of a Woman is already completed and has already screened at the Venice International Film Festival, where Vanessa Kirby took home the Volip Cup for Best Actress for her portrayal of the struggling Martha Weiss. Kirby is already receiving Oscar buzz for her performance, with outlets like Variety, Vanity Fair, Entertainment Weekly, and Vogue all singing the actress' praises. You will be able to see the performance for yourself when Pieces of a Woman premieres on Netflix on December 30.
The World To Come - February 12, 2021 (Completed)
Following Pieces of a Woman, Vanessa Kirby will appear alongside Katherine Waterson (Fantastic Beasts) in the 19th Century drama The World to Come. Based on Jim Shephard's short story of the same name, the upcoming movie will center on Abigail (Waterson), a grieving mother and wife of farmer (played by Casey Affleck, who is also producing the film) who meets and forms an electric bond with her new neighbor, Tally (Kirby) and sticks with the pair as they explore the depths of their relationship. As the pair battle the elements, their husbands, and the world around them, they find comfort and companionship in one another.
Like Vanessa Kirby's other soon-to-be-released project, The World to Come had its initial debut at the Venice International Film Festival in September 2020, where it was picked up Bleecker Street for U.S. distribution, according to Variety. The movie is currently scheduled to receive its limited release on February 12, 2021.
Mission: Impossible 7 - May 27, 2022 (In Production)
The Mission: Impossible movies have a habit of either bringing back characters from the earlier movies or characters related to some of the most memorable names from the franchise. That was the case for Vanessa Kirby's Alana Mitsoplis, aka the White Widow, in Mission: Impossible - Fallout, who was revealed to be the daughter of "Max" from the 1996 film that started it all for Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt and company. The black arms dealer who secretly helps out Hunt and his IMF team in the 2018 action-packed blockbuster, will be returning the upcoming Mission: Impossible 7, but the details of her role, as well as pretty much everything else with the movie, remains a mystery at this time.
Most of the cast from the previous installment (Cruise, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Angela Basset) will also be returning as well as franchise newcomers Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, and Shea Whigham.
Christopher McQuarrie's latest Mission: Impossible was originally supposed to enter production in Italy in February 2020, a little less than a month before the COVID-19 pandemic caused the shoot, and countless others, to press pause while they world dealt with the historic public health crisis. There were a few starts and stops throughout the first half of the year and principal photography on Mission: Impossible 7 didn't get underway until September 2020 when the director teased what appears to be one of the most insane stunts in the franchise, which is saying something. Production was still ongoing as of late November 2020, but Mission: Impossible 7 is still slated to be released theatrically May 27, 2022.
Mission: Impossible 8 - July 7, 2023 (Pre Production)
Those of us who love watching Ethan Hunt and the rest of the IMF team traverse the globe carrying out insanely dangerous and sometimes unbelievable acts of espionage won't have to wait too long to see the next chapter in the saga as Mission: Impossible 8 is currently set to drop a year after the release of its predecessor. In January 2019, it was reported that director Christopher McQuarrie had signed on to shoot both films back-to-back, which will certainly help with the turnaround. And this makes perfect sense, especially after the McQuarrie made comments in May 2020 stating that Mission: Impossible 7 and Mission: Impossible 8 were really just one movie split into two.
And since we can't know anything about the plot of Mission: Impossible 8 until its predecessor is released in November 2021, we don't really know how all of the characters, especially Vanessa Kirby's White Widow, will play into the movie. We do know, however, that Alanna Mitsopolis' mom, "Max" from 1996's Mission: Impossible will be coming back for both movies, so it's safe to say that Kirby's character will be an even bigger player in the two upcoming sequels. If everything goes according to plan and there are no additional delays with either upcoming project, we can expect to see Mission: Impossible 8 in theaters on July 7, 2023.
Italian Studies - TBD (Post-Production)
One of the most intriguing projects coming down the pike for Vanessa Kirby is the upcoming mystery film titled Italian Studies from writer and director Adam Leon. Amazingly, no plot details, or really anything else about the movie have been made public at this time, but production was completed in March 2019, according to Deadline. The report noted that the plot details were being kept under wraps, but it did shed some light on the development of the movie, which consisted of Leon (Gimme the Loot, Tramps) consulting with Kirby for many months before they started filming the mysterious project. When exactly Italian Studies will be released remains unknown at this time, but we could potentially hear more about this in the coming months especially with film festivals like Sundance and SXSW gearing up for a return.
The Brutalist - TBD (Pre-Production)
Vanessa Kirby is no stranger to working alongside some of the most talented actors living today, but the upcoming drama titled The Brutalist takes thing to the next level. Brady Corbet's 30-year chronicle of an architect by the name of László Toth (Joel Edgerton), who, along with his wife Erzsébet (Marion Cotillard), flees post-war Europe after surviving the Holocaust and looks for a better life in America. In addition to Kirby, Edgerton, and Cotillard, The Brutalist cast also features Mark Rylance and Sebastian Stan.
In a statement published by Deadline, actor-turned-director Brady Corbet, who previously worked on the 2016 drama Vox Lux starring Natalie Portman and Jude Law, said The Brutalist celebrates the triumphs of our ancestors and is a story that is close to his heart and family history. It was revealed in this article that production of the film will get underway in early 2021. There is no release date at this point, but with the cast and intriguing story, expect to see this one either late 2021 or early 2022.
Hobbs & Shaw 2 - TBD (Rumored)
And there Hobbs & Shaw 2, the followup to the 2019 Fast & Furious spinoff centering on Dwayne Johnson's Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw. In the successful blockbuster that also featured Idris Elba, Vanessa Kirby played the long-lost Shaw sister, Hattie, an MI6 agent sent to stop the spread of a deadly pathogen that could potentially wipeout half of human life. There has been talk of second movie about the unlikely pairing of Johnson and Statham's characters since the first was released in the summer of 2019, with Johnson going as far as to say that a script is being developed.
The specifics of a potential Hobbs & Shaw 2 remain minimal at best, and even less is known about the cast and if it will include a returning Vanessa Kirby. It's very likely she shows up again, especially with all the un-finished business from the ending of the first movie. We will have to wait and see with this one.
The next couple of years look pretty busy for Vanessa Kirby. From dramas receiving Oscar buzz to the return of a staple of the action genre and beyond, the former star of The Crown will be around for quite some time.
