Psychological thriller Hyena, one of the final films late director David Lynch signed onto as an executive producer, has announced a Q1, 2027 start date, and new co-stars.
Industry and Longlegs star Kiernan Shipka and Emmy nominee D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai are set to costar alongside further fresh cast additions, César Award winner and Golden Globe nominee Edgar Ramírez, and Independent Spirit Award nominee Rosemarie DeWitt.
Shipka and Woon-A-Tai replace previously announced leads Archie Madekwe and Havana Rose Liu.
Additionally, WME Independent has joined Upgrade on sales, with the partners due to introduce the project to buyers at the AFM.
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Scott Coffey directs from a screenplay he co-wrote with novelist Blair Mastbaum. Production is slated to begin in Spokane, Washington early next year.
Hyena follows Genevieve (Shipka), who brings her enigmatic new boyfriend Alexei (Woon-A-Tai) home to meet her seemingly idyllic family.
Their attempts to welcome him begin to fracture as Alexei turns his attention toward the family, working his way into them and exposing long-buried secrets, desires and hypocrisies, until Genevieve is the only one left willing to see him clearly, and saving what remains of her family demands an unspeakable sacrifice.
The film is among the last credits for Lynch, the iconic filmmaker who died in January 2025. Coffey appeared as Wilkins in Lynch’s Mulholland Drive, and following this collaboration, Lynch became a mentor to Coffey and was closely involved in the early development of Hyena.
Lynch, takes an executive producer credit on the project, alongside Oscar-nominated producer David Lancaster (Whiplash, Nightcrawler). Lancaster will produce alongside Jeff Elliott (Canary Black).
“Hyena is a very personal film. I’ve always believed the most unsettling horror isn’t supernatural — it’s the moment grief and love turn feral, when we stop pretending we aren’t wild. Kiernan Shipka, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Edgar Ramírez, and Rosemarie DeWitt will bring extraordinary depth, intelligence, and vulnerability to the movie,” Coffey said, whose previous features include Ellie Parker and Adult World.
Shipka’s credits include Osgood Perkins’ Longlegs, Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl, Macon Blair’s Idiots, HBO’s smash hit Industry and AMC’s Mad Men.
Woon-A-Tai is known for his performance in FX’s Reservation Dogs. He was most recently seen in Andrew Haigh’s A Long Winter, Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing and Alex Garland’s Warfare.
Ramírez’s recent credits include Jacques Audiard’s Oscar-winning Emilia Pérez, and Eli Roth’s Borderlands. He is set to headline season two of HBO’s acclaimed series Task.
Known for Rachel Getting Married and La La Land, DeWitt recently starred in Smile 2, can currently be seen in the Netflix crime drama Untamed opposite Erica Bana, and will be seen in the upcoming Cannes entry Diamond alongside Andy Garcia, Brendan Fraser, Bill Murray & Dustin Hoffman.
