Olivia Colman and Dev Patel's next movie is a twisted romance giving new meaning to 'wicker man'

Olivia Colman and Dev Patel
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Olivia Colman has set her next movie – and she's starring alongside Dev Patel in an, uh, unconventional romance.  

The official logline reads: "On the outskirts of a village by the sea, lives a Fisherwoman (Colman); smelly, single, and perpetually ridiculed. One day, fed up with her stuffy, small-minded neighbors, she commissions herself a husband to be made from wicker (Patel). In an otherwise conservative town, this unconventional romance sparks outrage, jealousy, and chaos." Neither actor is a stranger to offbeat stories, having worked with directors like Yorgos Lanthimos and Wes Anderson between them.

Based on The Wicker Husband, the short story by Ursula Wills-Jones, Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson are directing. The pair previously helmed Save Yourselves!, a sci-fi comedy starring Search Party's John Reynolds and GLOW's Sunita Mani that was released in 2020 and nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at that year's Sundance Film Festival. 

Colman has a few other movies in the works, including dark comedy Wicked Little Letters alongside her The Lost Daughter co-star Jessie Buckley, Wonka, and Paddington 3 (officially titled Paddington in Peru). 

Patel, meanwhile, most recently starred in Anderson's Roald Dahl short films on Netflix, and he's set to make his directorial debut with Monkey Man, an action-thriller that he'll also star in. The cast also includes District 9's Sharlto Copley, and John Wick producer Basil Iwanyk is on board behind the scenes.

Wicker doesn't have a release date yet. While we wait, check out our guide to the other biggest upcoming movies on the way in 2023 and beyond.

Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism. 

Read more
Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid in 'Companion'
Director of new twisty romance horror Companion explains why it wouldn't have worked without The Boys and Yellowjackets stars: "I can't imagine anyone else"
Ayo Edebiri in Opus
First trailer drops for The Bear star's new psychological horror movie with John Malkovich as a cult leader
Adam Scott in Severance
Severance star Adam Scott to lead new film from director of one of the highest-rated horror movies of 2024
Alison Brie and Dave Franco in Together
New body horror movie starring real-life couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie lands a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score – as first reviews call it "weird" and "unhinged"
Adrien Brody in The Brutalist
Adrien Brody and the cast and director of The Brutalist on their Oscar-nominated movie: "To make great cinema, you have to be vulnerable"
Elliot Page and Himesh Patel side-by-side
Christopher Nolan's upcoming movie The Odyssey sees its already stacked cast grow, as Inception and Tenet stars reunite with the director
Latest in Romance Movies
Claire Danes as Juliet and Miriam Margolyes as Nurse in the movie Romeo + Juliet.
The 33 greatest movies based on Shakespeare
The Bridges of Madison County
The 32 most heartbreaking movie moments
Ryan Gosling in Crazy, Stupid, Love
The 32 greatest Ryan Gosling movie moments
Addicted to Love
The 33 greatest '90s rom-coms
The Wolf of Wall Street
The 32 greatest Leonardo DiCaprio movies
Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid in 'Companion'
Director of new twisty romance horror Companion explains why it wouldn't have worked without The Boys and Yellowjackets stars: "I can't imagine anyone else"
Latest in News
Overwatch 2
My hopes for an Overwatch anime or Diablo horror movie are going strong as Blizzard president points out "we are Blizzard Entertainment, and not simply Blizzard Games"
The New Thunderbolts leaping into action
Marvel's New Thunderbolts* comic steals the MCU's asterisk, and the reason why is just as big of a mystery
Pokemon Go players brace for the worst as Niantic is sold off for $3.5 billion: "This game is entering its death knell"
Stamp PSP
A 16-year-old pitch for a newly discovered first-party PSP game has me mourning the death of PlayStation's Japan Studio all over again
Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3
Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion actor Neil Newbon says he "got rid of" agents who deliberately kept him away from video game gigs: "They just didn't want me to do it"
Mass Effect
Jennifer Hale says she didn't see a single line as Mass Effect's Commander Shepard until it was time to record: "It was all cold reading on the spot"