Tessa Thompson, Owen Cooper, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach set to star in new thriller Foxfinder, from Severance director Aiofe McArdle

three images of the leading actors, from L-R: Owen Cooper, Tessa Thompson, Ebon Moss Bachrach — (Image credit: Sam Simpson + Dave Benett/ Cindy Ord/ Bruce Glikas via Getty Images)

In more exciting movie news, a brand new thriller from the incredible Aoife McArdle (aka the director behind Apple TV’s Severance) is coming our way. And to call the cast cracking is an understatement.

BAFTA and Emmy award nominee Tessa Thompson is confirmed, alongside the breakout Adolescence star and Emmy award-winning Owen Cooper, and The Bear and The Fantastic Four: First Steps favourite Ebon Moss-Bachrach, with his two Emmy wins too.

Titled Foxfinder, the film is an upcoming psychological thriller from fellow Emmy award-nominated director Aoife McArdle, and it explores the absurdity of state control and societal conformity. It’s based on the award-winning play by Dawn King which won the inaugural Papatango New Writing Prize and an Off West End Award on its release in 2011.

It follows a grieving couple, Jude and Sam, who are desperately clinging to routine and survival, when their lives are upended on the arrival of William – a coldly devout Government foxfinder. As he begins his work – with the aim of routing out the designated enemy – paranoia mounts, increasing pressure from absurd regulations tightens the grip on the couple’s lives. Suspicion replaces love, and truth begins to get muddled…

The play's logline explains: "William is nineteen, he is a Foxfinder in the same way as seventeenth century Matthew Hopkins was a Witchfinder but not a self-appointed one. Part monk, part bureaucrat, part KGB he’s been brought up since the age of five in a monastic-like institution where he has been rigorously trained for the job. In secret moments of doubt or transgression he chants their credo and flagellates himself. His job is to find foxes, to identify land contaminated by them and to hunt down those who are collaborators with them. The authorities say foxes are the enemy: they, not climate change, are the cause of the drowning of the countryside, bad harvests, sickness, even a child’s death. There are subversives who don’t believe the government line. Is that because the fox enemy has power to corrupt people and control their minds?"

Although it's not been confirmed, we're assuming that Thompson will be taking on the role of Judith "Jude" Covey, one half of the leading married couple, whilst Ebon Moss Bachrach would take on Samuel Covey. Owen Cooper will likely be taking on the role of foxfinder William.

It’s launching in Cannes with Cornerstone and Logical Pictures Group on board for distribution. Production is set to begin in Bavaria this summer, and whilst we don't yet have a release date, it's fairly safe to assume we'll be seeing it land in late 2027.

Exclusive: Elden Ring movie begins filming in London — set photos reveal massive production

Skip the search — follow Shortlist on Google News to get our best lists, news, features and reviews at the top of your feeds!

Hermione Blandford is the Content Editor for Shortlist’s social media which means you can usually find her scrolling through Instagram and calling it work, or stopping random people in the street and accosting them with a mini mic. She has previously worked in food and drink PR for brands including Johnnie Walker, Tanqueray, Gordon's, The Singleton, Lagavulin and Don Julio which means she is a self confessed expert in spicy margaritas and pints, regularly popping into the pub in the name of research.