This Summer, Maya Hawke Is Entering The Wes Anderson Multiverse

This summer is beginning to shape into a classic, original blockbuster-filled one. Wes Anderson, acclaimed filmmaker and idol to many young creatives, gave us The French Dispatch in 2021, adding Gen Z faves Timothée Chalamet and Saoirse Ronan into his filmography. Now, this summer, we can expect another round of whimsy and creativity for his film, Asteroid City. Especially since another Gen Z idol is joining his cinematic universe.

On March 28, the official poster for Wes Anderson’s new film, Asteroid City, was released, and the film kids are not OK. On display is a seemingly picturesque desert landscape featuring a town welcome sign with the film’s title and a crater-sized hole in the ground, along with a roster of celebrities set to star. The poster invokes themes of small-town loneliness alongside cosmic mystery — a combo we existential Gen-Z kids are familiar with, considering our generation’s love for films like Everything Everywhere All At Once, Nope, and Palm Springs. 

What is Asteroid City about?

Asteroid City, set to release in select theaters on June 16, 2023, has only released limited info on the plot. What we know so far is it is set in 1955 and follows families at a Junior Stargazer convention. And since Anderson is directing, it’s bound to be a quirky, whimsical, and visually stunning film. Luckily, the trailer comes out on March 29, so we’ll definitely know more information then.

Who is in Asteroid City?

We also know the star-studded cast Anderson is famous for. His regulars that are set to star include Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, and Tilda Swinton. However, some newcomers to Anderson’s filmography include some of our favs: Maya Hawke, Margot Robbie, and Hong Chau. 

Hawke hit our radars with her character Robin in Stranger Things but got the chance to really carve herself into a leading role in 2022’s Do Revenge, in which she won our hearts, crushed them, and then won them again. We can only hope Anderson has cast her in another great, and maybe even queer, role. Though, this would be the first time Anderson does so, having received criticism for writing predominately heterosexual and white stories. Hong Chau, who absolutely ate in The Menu (see what I did there?) with her iconic “tortillas” line, seems to be the only female POC on the poster. 

One of my favorite Tik Tok trends of the past few years was when filmmakers began creating their own Wes Anderson-inspired shorts. His films are insanely distinguishable by his meticulous style: a pastel color palette, symmetrical cinematography, and deadpan or camp characters, so it was only fitting to try and capture this design in shorter videos. More importantly, this gave POC not often represented in Andersons’ films the chance to subvert the narratives and aesthetics and see themselves in the spotlight. 

Though Asteroid City may not deliver anything spectacular in terms of diversity, I’m sure we can expect some colorful production design and quirky characters. Until the trailer drops and I get more information on the plot, I’ll be patiently waiting to see how my girlies fit into this potentially sci-fi story (and hope for more POC cast members).