Terrence Malick’s magnificent new drama A Hidden Life, which finds him reteaming with Fox Searchlight after his magnum opus The Tree of Life, is currently enjoying screenings at TIFF ahead of a December release, but the recently-prolific director isn’t resting on his laurels. It was revealed earlier this summer that he embarked on production on The Last Planet, a film that would convey passages in the life of Christ through representing evangelical parables.

Now, we have more enticing details, including the first cast members. Oscar winner Mark Rylance unveiled he’s part of the film, as well as two more additions to the ensemble, while speaking to Allocine at the Deauville American Film Festival. Matthias Schoenaerts, who has a role in A Hidden Life, will reteam with the director, while Son of Saul star Géza Röhrig is also coming on board.

Here’s where things get more intriguing as Rylance reveals he’ll be playing Satan, Schoenaerts is playing Saint Peter, and Röhrig will be playing Jesus. Translated from French, Rylance added, “Terry wrote four versions of the character of Satan, and I thought I would play only one. But I heard I was going to play all four. One of them must have been a woman at some point, but it was when he asked me to grow a beard that I realized I wasn’t going to do it that way. I’m very happy to act for Terrence Malick, but I’m intrigued, because I hear he talks to you all the time. And coming from the theater, I’m not used to the director yelling at me while I act or tell me what to do. But his films always intrigued me.”

Rylance says his part of the production will begin in October, so we should see the film premiere sometime around (wait, let me do the math…) 2022. He also revealed he’s working on an unnamed project with Paul Greengrass and he’s unsure if Steven Spielberg’s The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara is ever going to happen. Alas, we’ll get this Malick film someday, and it sounds wildly fascinating already.

The director also provided an update on The Last Planet, a film that will convey passages in the life of Christ through representing evangelical parables, starring Mark Rylance as Satan, Matthias Schoenaerts as Saint Peter, and Son of Saul star Géza Röhrig as Jesus, well as Joseph Fiennes, Douglas Booth, Alfonso Postiglione, and, Lorenzo Gioiell.

“We have just finished shooting, I am very happy,” he said. “A few days ago we finished shooting in the desert of Jordan. [It’s] a multicultural film with a cast that brings together Middle Eastern actors, a German troupe, and even Italian artists in the costumes department and set design (costume designer Carlo Poggioli and production designer Stefano Maria Ortolani). Now I go back to Texas to edit the film. It will take at least a year because we have a lot of material, and since we go digital, we end up with many more images. My favorite moment of the work is the editing. There is no longer the set pressure, the uncertainty of the weather on the shoot. I am very happy to be here at the end of this long journey. I would like to be able to stay longer in Rome. We have an early plane that takes us to Austin.”

A minor update on Terrence Malick’s next feature, about which news has been scant since last year. Our friends at One Big Soul have confirmed that what was once known as The Last Planet is, in fact, The Way of the Wind—the latter apparently their title of choice since day one, the former a production title.

Nothing else new, unfortunately, though it is the second update this month, following nearly a year of radio silence. Early last week we learned composer Eleni Karaindrou—whose piece “Lament I” appears in Voyage of Time: Life’s Journey—is involved with the project, perhaps signaling strides made since editing was, apparently and to no one’s surprise, impeded by COVID.

As a quick reminder / article-padder, The Last Planetstars Géza Röhrig (Son of Saul) as Jesus, Matthias Schoenaerts as Saint Peter, and Mark Rylance as Satan, with Joseph Fiennes, Douglas Booth, Alfonso Postiglione, and Lorenzo Gioiell also involved. Little is known, though Rylance said the following last year…

“Terry wrote four versions of the character of Satan, and I thought I would play only one. But I heard I was going to play all four. One of them must have been a woman at some point, but it was when he asked me to grow a beard that I realized I wasn’t going to do it that way. I’m very happy to act for Terrence Malick, but I’m intrigued, because I hear he talks to you all the time. And coming from the theater, I’m not used to the director yelling at me while I act or tell me what to do. But his films always intrigued me.”

…and while promoting The Trial of the Chicago 7 in January had this little tidbit (via Third Coast Review):

“I’d come from working with Terrence Malick, so that’s a a 90-minute take [laughs]. During the take, you’ll hear the cameraman say ‘Someone help me, please take the camera,’ and someone else takes the camera, and Terrence says, ‘Carry on. Don’t worry about that.’