Last summer, it was revealed that Bill Murray had signed on to appear in Asteroid City, Wes Anderson's follow-up to last year's The French Dispatch. It would've been Murray's 11th collaboration with the terminally quirked-up director, but as more details began to roll out about the film, Murray was noticeably absent.
Now, it's been revealed that while Murray was indeed signed on to the film, he was forced to drop out of the production after contracting COVID just before filming began last September.
According to Variety, Murray dropped before he'd filmed any scenes, so his character was recast with Steve Carrell and production moved forward. Those who did manage to dodge COVID and film their scenes include some Anderson regulars and a few new (to him) faces like Tom Hanks, Margot Robbie, Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton and Adrien Brody, among others.
The COVID explanation challenges speculation that Murray was removed from the film due to allegations of inappropriate behaviour from the actor on the set of Aziz Ansari's Being Mortal.
Asteroid City is set for release sometime this year.
Now, it's been revealed that while Murray was indeed signed on to the film, he was forced to drop out of the production after contracting COVID just before filming began last September.
According to Variety, Murray dropped before he'd filmed any scenes, so his character was recast with Steve Carrell and production moved forward. Those who did manage to dodge COVID and film their scenes include some Anderson regulars and a few new (to him) faces like Tom Hanks, Margot Robbie, Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton and Adrien Brody, among others.
The COVID explanation challenges speculation that Murray was removed from the film due to allegations of inappropriate behaviour from the actor on the set of Aziz Ansari's Being Mortal.
Asteroid City is set for release sometime this year.
