In May 2025, I reported that production on Charlie Kaufman's "Later the War" had come to a sudden halt. No official reason was given, but sources revealed that the cast and crew had departed the set, with one of the Polish producers pulling out of the project altogether. The film, which had assembled an impressive cast including Eddie Redmayne, Tessa Thompson, and Patsy Ferran, who were all located in Serbia, suddenly left, casting serious doubt on whether the project could be made without a complete reset.
In a later interview, Kaufman elaborated further through It Happened in Hollywood: "We had some problems. We're trying to regroup now, see if we can get it made, but it hasn't happened yet." And that's exactly what has happened. The project is officially back on. The only casting change is that Redmayne has been replaced by Channing Tatum; Ferran and Thompson are still attached. The film is set to shoot in Cyprus in 2027.
Plot-wise, Tatum plays Peekman, a hugely successful actor-director known for slapstick blockbusters he makes with his wife, Kiki (Thompson). As his fame grows, he begins to feel hollow and worries he has nothing meaningful to say. Seeking artistic respect—and as his marriage unravels—he attempts a serious Holocaust drama, while Kiki pursues her own solo stage work. When he meets Debora (Ferran), a poet who doesn't recognize him, he becomes obsessed with earning her approval, with disastrous results.
Unsurprisingly, the story blends real life, films within films, and surreal dream sequences, a Kaufman specialty. This is actually an adaptation of Iddo Geffen's short story "Debby's Dream House," a natural fit for Kaufman's ongoing exploration of dream states and fractured realities.
This is set to be Kaufman's first directorial effort since 2020's "I'm Thinking of Ending Things." Despite his reputation as one of the most original voices in American cinema, financing has long been a challenge for Kaufman. Even "Ending Things" only came together once Netflix stepped in. In that sense, "Later the War" already feels like a minor miracle in the making.
Kaufman, of course, remains the mind behind "Being John Malkovich," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "Adaptation," "Synecdoche, New York," and "Anomalisa."
