Martin McDonagh is heading to Easter Island for his next feature, a CIA-set thriller-comedy that the director says explores an era when “horrible people had intelligence.” The filmmaker behind Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and The Banshees of Inisherin has set Wild Horse Nine for a November 4, 2026 release, and he’s bringing a murderers’ row of character actors along for the ride.
The film, which clocks in at 118 minutes, drops its characters into the remote Pacific outpost just before the 1973 Chilean coup. John Malkovich leads the cast as Chris, a CIA agent stationed in Santiago who gets dispatched to Easter Island alongside his longtime partner Lee, played by Sam Rockwell. Steve Buscemi rounds out the agency trio as MJ, their bureau chief who sends them on the assignment. As the pair navigates the island’s famous moai statues and their own tangled histories, Chris forms an unlikely connection with two rebellious students - a bond that threatens to upend the entire operation.
McDonagh, speaking to press ahead of the film’s release, framed the project as a return to the morally messy terrain he’s known for, but with a distinct period twist. The director emphasized that the story is less about the mechanics of espionage than about the particular breed of operatives the CIA cultivated in that era - people who were, in his words, deeply flawed yet undeniably sharp.
A Change of Scenery With Familiar Tension
The setting marks a departure from McDonagh’s usual haunts. Rather than the Irish coastal villages or American small towns that have anchored his previous work, Wild Horse Nine unfolds among the volcanic landscapes and monolithic statues of Rapa Nui. That geography, McDonagh suggested, provides a uniquely isolating backdrop for a story about men carrying secrets they can’t outrun.
“It’s paradise, but it’s also a prison of sorts,” the director said of the location. “There’s nowhere to go, no one to call. These are people who are used to being in control, and suddenly they’re on an island where the rules don’t quite apply.”
The timeline is equally pointed. Set in the days leading up to the September 11, 1973 coup that ousted Chilean President Salvador Allende, the film uses that historical pivot as a slow-burning fuse. The CIA’s documented involvement in Chilean politics during that period hovers over the narrative, though McDonagh insisted the movie is more interested in personal dysfunction than policy analysis.
A Stacked Cast of Regulars and Newcomers
Beyond Malkovich, Rockwell, and Buscemi, the cast includes Parker Posey as Marge, plus musician-actor Tom Waits in an unspecified role. Chilean actress Mariana di Girolamo, Paola Giannini, and AilĂn Salas round out the ensemble, with the latter two presumably figuring into the student subplot that sends Chris’s mission sideways.
McDonagh has a history of coaxing career-best work from his actors - Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell both won Oscars for Three Billboards, while Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell earned nominations for The Banshees of Inisherin. That track record suggests Wild Horse Nine could position Malkovich and Rockwell for similar awards-season consideration when the film lands in November.
The pairing of Malkovich and Rockwell is particularly intriguing. Both actors have built careers on playing men with sharp edges and hidden depths, and McDonagh indicated their dynamic is the film’s engine. “They’ve been partners for years, and they know each other too well,” he said. “The conversation between them is half verbal, half something else entirely.”
Genre-Blending in the McDonagh Mold
The film is classified as a mix of comedy, crime, and thriller - a combination that tracks with McDonagh’s signature tonal juggling act. His work frequently veers from darkly funny to genuinely violent within the same scene, and Wild Horse Nine appears to follow that pattern. The director noted that the comedic elements emerge organically from the characters’ arrogance and incompetence, rather than from set-piece gags.
“These are people who think they’re the smartest ones in the room, and sometimes they are, but that doesn’t mean they’re not also ridiculous,” McDonagh said of his CIA protagonists. His comment about “horrible people had intelligence” speaks to a broader frustration with contemporary depictions of espionage, which he implied have softened the edges of an inherently brutal profession.
Parker Posey’s role as Marge remains under wraps, but her casting suggests a potential wildcard element in the story. Tom Waits, meanwhile, has become something of a McDonagh regular in recent years, having appeared in voice roles in both Three Billboards and The Banshees of Inisherin; his live-action presence here could signal a more substantial part.
With production already complete and a release date locked for early November, Wild Horse Nine is poised to be a major awards contender in the coming months. The film’s combination of a prestige director, heavyweight cast, and politically charged historical setting gives it the profile of a festival favorite, even if its official premiere plans have yet to be announced.
For McDonagh, the project represents his first film since 2022’s The Banshees of Inisherin, which earned nine Oscar nominations. The gap between projects is typical for the director, who tends to work at a deliberate pace, but interest in his next move has remained high. Early buzz around Wild Horse Nine suggests the wait will have been worth it - though McDonagh himself seemed characteristically unbothered by expectations.
“I just wanted to make something about people who are very sure of themselves on an island that doesn’t care,” he said. “Whether that’s a comedy or a thriller, I’ll leave for audiences to decide.”
Source: Hollywood Reporter
