Celine Song’s much-anticipated second feature film Materialists is on the horizon. Here’s everything we know about the movie so far.
The debut feature film of acclaimed playwright Celine Song, Past Lives, was an unmitigated success. Critics loved it, the Academy nominated it for two Oscars, and it earned an impressive $42.6 million on a reported budget of $12 million. Reminiscent of the Before trilogy and early Noah Baumbach/Greta Gerwig collaborations, it ended up in plenty of year-end ‘top 10s’ of critics and audiences alike thanks to a breakout performance from Greta Lee and Song’s sophisticated semi-autobiographical script. Thankfully, the Korean-Canadian filmmaker hasn’t kept us waiting too long for her sophomore effort, as her next movie, Materialists, is due very soon. Read on to find out everything we know about it and mark your calendars for another potential film of the year from this exciting new figure in cinema.
What is the Plot of Materialists?
Details on the plot of Materialists are thin on the ground, but we know that the film is about a professional matchmaker based in New York City who finds herself part of a love triangle with her ex and a new potential match. It doesn’t sound a million miles away from the premise of Past Lives, which also saw a female protagonist caught between a figure from the past and her current love, though in a 2023 interview with GQ, producer Christine Vachon assured us that this will be a very different beast to Song’s debut, describing the director as ‘the kind of filmmaker who doesn’t make the same movie twice’.
Everything we Know about the Cast of Materialists
Having built up some serious Hollywood capital with her previous effort, Song is going big with her cast for this one. Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal, three A-list names most recently associated with action franchise movies, star in Materialists: we’ll now get to see them flexing their dramatic muscles for a prestige director. Succession alumnae Zoë Winters and Dasha Nekrasova are set to appear in the film, as are Marin Ireland, Louisa Jacobson and Sawyer Spielberg, son of Steven.
Who Else is Working on the Movie?
Materialists is produced by David Hinojosa, Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler, the same trio who worked on Past Lives. Song herself is also stepping up as producer alongside her roles as writer and director. Shabier Kirchner returns as Song’s director of photography, with production and costume design coming from Anthony Gasparro and Katina Danabassis respectively. Acclaimed composer Daniel Pemberton provides the music.
Is There a Trailer for Materialists?
As of today, yes! Featuring a fabulous cover of Madonna’s ‘Material Girl’, the new trailer shows us Johnson’s ‘eternal bachelorette’ matchmaker navigating the world of rich NYC singletons here:
This week also saw the reveal of a brand new poster for the film, with the tantalising tagline: ‘Some people just want more’.
Is Materialists an A24 Film?
As was the case with Past Lives, A24 is not a producer of Materialists but will be its distributor in the United States. Sony is handling the film’s international release, excluding Russia, China and Japan.
Materialists’ Release Date: When & Where to Watch Celine Song’s Movie
The film is set to appear in U.S. theaters from June 13, 2025, placing it alongside Universal’s live-action How to Train Your Dragon. An international release date hasn’t been announced yet, but the U.K. posters confirm it will be coming soon to U.K. and Irish cinemas. It would seem a previously speculated premiere at Cannes in May hasn’t come to fruition, so everyone’s first chance to see Materialists will probably be during its wide release this summer.
