The challenge for every great director is achieving an even more successful turnaround for their sophomore work as their debut. Eager to make sure that the odds are in her favor, Olivia Wilde is back in her second directorial film after working on the coming-of-age comedy Booksmart. The new feature, Don’t Worry Darling, is a psychological thriller set during the 50s featuring two of pop culture’s greatest names: Florence Pugh and Harry Styles. To keep you updated on all the details surrounding this anticipated film, here is a compilation of all the info that has already been revealed on Don’t Worry Darling that you need to know.
Editor's Note: This piece was updated on September 7.
Is There A Don’t Worry Darling Trailer?
The first full trailer for Don't Worry Darling hit the web on May 2, 2022, giving fans their long-awaited first look at all the sex, intrigue, insanity, and hot faces, that they can expect to see when the film hits theaters.
The second trailer for Don't Worry Darling landed on July 21, 2022, and gives viewers a better look into the overall story of the psychological thriller as Alice starts to realize that her idyllic 50s suburban paradise isn't as serene as she initially thought and in fact hides some shocking and disturbing secrets.
When Is Don't Worry Darling Hitting Theaters?
The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 5, 2022.
The release date for Don’t Worry Darling is September 23, 2022. After production was halted twice due to crew testing positive for Covid-19, the film wrapped up in mid-February of this year. Actor Asif Ali shared a pic from set confirming the end of the shooting process by saying: “I’m so happy I got to learn, play, and build with these shiny gems. I wish I took more pics, but I didn’t want to get fired lol. DONT WORRY DARLING is coming!!”
The film was made during the pandemic because it was the only time that the people involved in the project would be available to take part in it. Wilde stated that Don’t Worry Darling couldn’t be deterred from its filming plans in a cover story for Vogue.
Who Is in The Cast of Don’t Worry Darling?
As previously mentioned, Florence Pugh is starring in the upcoming project. The Black Widow actress will play Alice, a 1950s housewife who starts to question her surroundings when sinister encounters take place in her utopian-like community in the California desert. Following her lead, Harry Styles will be Jack, Alice’s husband who holds a “dark secret”. The “Watermelon Sugar” singer joined the ensemble after Shia LaBeouf, originally set to play the part, now infamously left the project. Wilde was thrilled to have Styles on board and praised his posture on a social media post saying:
“Not only did he relish the opportunity to allow for the brilliant @florencepugh to hold center stage as our 'Alice', but he infused every scene with a nuanced sense of humanity.”
LaBeouf wasn’t the only actor to be replaced in this film. Dakota Johnson was originally supposed to play Alice’s neighbor, a strange and paranoid woman who is responsible for warning Alice of what is happening in their community. Also due to scheduling conflicts, Johnson exited the project making way for If Beale Street Could Talk actress Kiki Layne to join the cast.
Wilde herself will be acting in the feature film as Bunny, the best friend of Alice. Another well-known name confirmed in the cast is Chris Pine, who will play Frank, a venerated leader of a cult-like workplace. According to Wilde, Pine’s immediate response following the request to participate in the film was, “Yea, buddy of course!”
Marvel alum and Styles' fellow Eternals co-star Gemma Chan is also linked to Don’t Worry Darling as Shelley the wife of Pine's character. Big Mouth co-creator and star Nick Kroll is also in the film as Dean, the husband of Bunny. The rest of the cast includes Sydney Chandler, Kate Berlant, Asif Ali, Douglas Smith, Timothy Simons, Ari'el Stachel, Dita Von Teese, Sagar Sujata, Marcello Julian Reyes, and Mariah Justice.
What is Don’t Worry Darling About?
The thriller is set in the 1950s and is centered on a utopian community in California. With fancy outfits and seemingly nothing that can crumble the idealistic lifestyle, Alice begins to question her surroundings when unprecedented events take place. She also questions her sanity when no one but her neighbor seems to believe her. If Pugh impressed audiences with her mental breakdown while portraying Dani in Ari Aster’s Midsommar, we can anticipate an equally amusing performance in this film.
Don’t Worry Darling’s screenplay was written by Katie Silberman. Silberman was also responsible for penning down the script for Wilde’s Booksmart and the Netflix rom-com Set It Up.
The official plot synopsis from Warner Bros reads:
From New Line Cinema comes “Don’t Worry Darling,” directed by Olivia Wilde (“Booksmart”) and starring Florence Pugh (Oscar-nominated for “Little Women”), Harry Styles (“Dunkirk”), Wilde (upcoming “Babylon”), Gemma Chan (“Crazy Rich Asians”), KiKi Layne (“The Old Guard”) and Chris Pine (“All the Old Knives”). Alice (Pugh) and Jack (Styles) are lucky to be living in the idealized community of Victory, the experimental company town housing the men who work for the top-secret Victory Project and their families. The 1950’s societal optimism espoused by their CEO, Frank (Pine)—equal parts corporate visionary and motivational life coach—anchors every aspect of daily life in the tight-knit desert utopia. While the husbands spend every day inside the Victory Project Headquarters, working on the “development of progressive materials,” their wives—including Frank’s elegant partner, Shelley (Chan)—get to spend their time enjoying the beauty, luxury and debauchery of their community. Life is perfect, with every resident’s needs met by the company. All they ask in return is discretion and unquestioning commitment to the Victory cause. But when cracks in their idyllic life begin to appear, exposing flashes of something much more sinister lurking beneath the attractive façade, Alice can’t help questioning exactly what they’re doing in Victory, and why. Just how much is Alice willing to lose to expose what’s really going on in this paradise? An audacious, twisted and visually stunning psychological thriller, “Don’t Worry Darling” is a powerhouse feature from director Olivia Wilde that boasts intoxicating performances from Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, surrounded by the impressive and pitch-perfect cast.
What’s Next for Olivia Wilde, Harry Styles, and Florence Pugh?
Things will definitely not slow down for the three big names involved in Don’t Worry Darling. Wilde is both starring in feature films and beginning her next directorial project. Wilde has been confirmed in the cast of Damian Chazelle’s next production entitled Babylon and will direct Thomasin McKenzie (Last Night in Soho) on Perfect, a biopic about American gymnast Kerri Strug. She is also rumored to direct a female-led entry in Sony's Spider-Man Universe.
As for Styles, the singer will not only recently released new music, but he will also be the lead in an Amazon film called My Policeman. The story is adapted from the book with the same name written by Bethan Roberts. It centers on Tom, a policeman whose heart belongs to both his wife Marion (Emma Corrin) and his secret love interest Patrick (David Dawson).
Last but not least, Pugh has a lot coming her way past her participation as the Black Widow successor in the Marvel film. Not only was she recently featured in Hawkeye. She is also confirmed to star in a murder mystery called The Maid, which is based on a novel by Nita Prose, set to come out this month. Pugh will also be seen in The Wonder and Good Person, where she will star opposite of Morgan Freeman. She is also set to star in two of the most anticipated movies of 2023 playing Jean Tatlock in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer and Princess Irulan in Denis Villeneuve's Dune: Part Two.
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