Julianne Moore is set to star in “The Room Next Door,” the first full-length English-language feature from Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar.
Moore — whose casting was confirmed on Thursday by Almodóvar’s production company El Deseo on social media — joins Tilda Swinton in the film. Swinton previously starred in Almodovar’s 2021 short “The Human Voice.” Swinton’s casting, which Almodóvar’s first spoke about last year, was also confirmed by El Deseo.
The Instagram post said that the “The Room Next Door” is a “drama between a mother and daughter,” adding that it would be filmed in the spring in New York and Madrid. No other details about the plot or Moore and Swinton’s roles was revealed.
Representatives for Moore did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
Almodóvar had previously stated that his shorts “The Human Voice” and “Strange Way of Life” — which are both in English — were merely warm-ups so he could grow accustomed to directing English-speaking actors. He had previously been attached to direct the English-language feature “A Manual for Cleaning Women,” which Cate Blanchett was due to produce and star in, but dropped out in 2022.
“The Room Next Door” marks Almodóvar’s first feature since 2021’s “Parallel Mothers,” which premiered in Venice. Penélope Cruz, who plays a single mother in a story that also involves the search for missing bodies of those murdered during the Spanish Civil War, would go on to win the festival’s Volpi Cup for best actress, while the film garnered eight Goya Award nominations.
One of the most recognized European directors with a huge international following, Almodóvar’s previous work includes “Talk to Her,” “The Skin I Live In,” “Pain and Glory,” and “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.”
