Two stars from The Matrix franchise, Jessica Henwick, and Hugo Weaving, will be joining Ozark star Julia Garner in the upcoming social thriller The Royal Hotel.
The Royal Hotel will see Garner and Henwick playing a pair of friends who are backpacking through Australia. When they run out of money, the owner of “The Royal Hotel” (Weaving) gives them a temporary job at the bar in a remote town in the outback. However, the situation quickly grows into something more sinister and unnerving.
Henwick is best known for her recent role in The Matrix Resurrections. She has also appeared in series like Game of Thrones and Iron Fist and can be seen in the upcoming Knives Out 2. Weaving is best known for any one of his iconic roles such as Agent Smith in the original The Matrix trilogy, Elrond in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Red Skull in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, to name a few.
The Royal Hotel will be directed by Kitty Green, who previously directed Garner in the drama The Assistant. The script has been co-written by Green and Oscar Redding. The film is being produced by Emile Sherman and Iain Canning for See-Saw Films alongside Liz Watts, the Head of Film and Television (Aus) at the company, and with Kath Shelper for Scarlett Pictures.
Sherman and Canning put out a joint statement about the upcoming film, saying "Kitty has a truly distinctive and cinematic voice and we're thrilled to be collaborating with her on this gripping rollercoaster of a journey into the heart of the Australian outback." Watts also put out a statement, adding:
“Like we saw with The Assistant, The Royal Hotel will get under the skin of audiences, bringing a sense of adrenalin and edge of seat compulsion to watch. We are delighted to be adding the incredible Jessica Henwick and Hugo Weaving to our cast alongside the brilliant Julia Garner.”
Additionally, Gabrielle Stewart gave a statement on behalf of HanWay Films, the company handling international sales for the film, saying:
“We are hugely excited to work with See-Saw Films on The Royal Hotel. Following in the thematic footsteps of The Assistant, this time Kitty Green gets to crank up the tension with a chilling, entertaining, yet all too recognizable tale of young women confronting the toxic masculine environment that threatens their trip of a lifetime. A universal story that is horribly recognizable.”
The Royal Hotel is scheduled to start shooting on location in Australia this summer. Stay tuned to Collider for any future updates on the project!
Read the official synopsis for the film below:
Hanna (Garner) and Liv (Henwick) are best friends backpacking in Australia. After they run out of money, Liv, looking for an adventure, convinces Hanna to take a temporary live-in job behind the bar of a pub called ‘The Royal Hotel’ in a remote Outback mining town. Bar Owner Billy (Weaving) and a host of locals give the girls a riotous introduction to Down Under drinking culture but things turn nasty when their jokes and behaviour cross the line. Soon Hanna and Liv find themselves trapped in an unnerving situation that grows rapidly out of their control.