First times carry a particular electricity. Whether it is landing your first role or stepping behind the camera for the first time, the weight of the journey sharpens the meaning of the destination. That is why Cody Fern’s transition from actor to first-time feature director already feels significant. As production in Quebec, Canada quietly moves forward, it is not just the milestone itself that is drawing attention, it is the evolving cast.

The real question now is who is choosing to take this journey with him. What fresh faces and seasoned power players are stepping into Cody Fern’s world as his debut begins to take shape?

According to a recent casting update by Deadline, the project has gained two notable additions. Two-time Oscar nominee Naomi Watts, whose career spans emotionally demanding performances in films like The Impossible and 21 Grams, has signed on, bringing a level of gravitas that signals confidence in the material. She is joined by Odessa A’zion, coming off a breakout period, through Marty Supreme. They join a cast that was already formidable. 

According to Deadline, Sarah Paulson, leads the ensemble alongside Oscar winner Dianne Wiest and rising Australian actor Toby Wallace. Notably, Toni Collette, who was attached in earlier iterations of the project, is no longer involved.

A’zion’s involvement follows her recent exit from Sean Durkin’s California-set romantic drama Deep Cuts. Her pivot to Fern’s film suggests a strategic reset, aligning herself with an intimate, actor-driven project instead of an adaptation.

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As casting locks into place, the unnamed feature itself is beginning to move with quiet confidence, to become more of a slow-burn statement debut.

Framed within the pressure cooker of a major Broadway staging of Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage, the story follows Sandra Vale (Sarah Paulson). She plays a revered stage performer approaching what should be the defining moment of her career, just as her personal life begins to fracture. The arrival of her estranged sister April (Watts), after three decades apart, ignites long-buried family tensions. Dianne Wiest embodies the family’s acerbic matriarch Diane, while Wallace plays April’s son Theo.

Odessa A’zion steps into the role of Lucy, a restless young woman standing at the edge of a decision that could permanently alter her life.

Behind the camera, Cody Fern is supported by experienced hands. Producers include Matilda Comers and Will Howarth of Fictitious, alongside Nancy Grant and Rosalie Chicoine Perreault. Fern also co-wrote the screenplay with Devon Bostick, balancing two actor sensibilities in its construction. Veteran cinematographer Yves Bélanger is set to lens the film.

For a first feature, the pieces are falling into place with uncommon intention. If this is how Cody Fern begins his directing career, the industry will be watching closely. 

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What do you think of the cast and story so far? Does this feel like the start of something lasting?