Will Arnett has joined the cast of Tony Gilroy’s drama Behemoth!, stepping into the lead role after David Harbour’s departure.
Arnett co-stars with Pedro Pascal and Olivia Wilde, while Eva Victor, Matthew Lillard, Margarita Levieva and Alexa Swinton round out the lively ensemble cast.
On Tuesday, a representative for Searchlight Pictures confirmed to Variety that Harbor has withdrawn from the project, which began filming last fall, and that the role has been recast. Sources say the actor was overwhelmed by the ending of Stranger Things and decided to leave the series to take a break.
Details of the synopsis of “Behemoth!” are rare. However, an early logline states simply that the film follows “a family of musicians who return to Los Angeles” and is “a love letter to film music and the people who make it.” Gilroy (“Andor,” “Michael Clayton”) wrote and directed the film. He also serves as a producer for Sanne Wohlenberg.
The project is inspired by Gilroy’s musical background and love of the art form. “When I was younger, I was a musician. I took it seriously for a while. … When you score, that’s the happiest place you’re at,” he told Variety last year in a feature about “Andor.” “So I came up with a movie about a symphonic cellist who returns to Los Angeles to do session work. The whole movie is told through (musical) cues. The cues trigger flashbacks of the past 20 years and tell us why he left and why he came back. This is a movie about surfing with music.”
Arnett joined the project following his successful collaboration with Searchlight on the drama Is This Sing On?, in which he played a man who discovers stand-up comedy as a way to cope with the shock of divorce. Arnett co-wrote the script with Mark Chappell and Bradley Cooper and also directed. The film, which also stars Laura Dern, Cooper, and Andra Day, premiered to positive reviews at the New York Film Festival and was released in theaters in December.
Arnett, widely known for projects such as “Arrested Development,” “BoJack Horseman,” “30 Rock,” “The Morning Show,” and the “Lego Movie” series, is currently nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his popular podcast “SmartLess,” which he co-hosts with Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes.
Arnett is repped by CAA. Deadline first reported his casting.
