Judd Apatow has put together a stellar ensemble cast for his pandemic-themed comedy The Bubble at Netflix. One of the names that stands out is Borat Subsequent Moviefilm breakout star Maria Bakalova in what will be her next big role. This comes after the Bulgarian actress earned great acclaim for her performance in the Borat sequel, which also brought along Golden Globe, SAG, and Critics’ Choice Award nominations.
Along with Maria Bakalova and The other big names revealed as a part of the cast for The Bubble include Karen Gillan (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle), Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian), Iris Apatow (Love), Fred Armisen (Porlandia), Keegan-Michael Key (Key and Peele), Leslie Mann (Blockers), Peter Serafinowicz (Guardians of the Galaxy), and David Duchovny (The X-Files). This impressive list of names confirms the rumors that Apatow was looking for a strong ensemble comparable to Knives Out.
Directly addressing the way of life all of us have had to endure over the past year, The Bubble is described as a “meta comedy” movie that tackles the coronavirus pandemic head-on. The story follows a group of actors stuck inside a pandemic bubble at a hotel as they attempt to complete a movie. Apatow directs using a screenplay co-written with Pam Brady (South Park), and frequent Apatow collaborator Barry Mendel will executive produce.
After producing comedy movies for years, Judd Apatow made his directorial debut with the 2005 movie The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Co-written with lead star Steve Carell, the movie was a big hit and further established Apatow as a comedy great. As a director, he has since helmed movies like Knocked Up, Funny People, This Is 40, Trainwreck, and the documentary The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling. He has also produced other titles like Pineapple Express, You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.
Apatow’s most recent movie, The King of Staten Island, was released last year through VOD outlets. It was originally set to be released in theaters, but the pandemic changed those plans. The movie stars Pete Davidson (Saturday Night Live) as a young man and high school dropout who must get his life together when his mother starts dating a new man reminiscent of his dead father. The King of Staten Island performed well with critics, and while it wasn’t given a fair shake at the box office, it was one of the most popular VOD titles of the pandemic.
The pandemic has inspired several other movie and TV projects as well, just in case you aren’t hearing enough about all of that in real life. That even includes Freeform’s rom-com Love in the Time of Corona and producer Michael Bay’s horror thriller Songbird about a new strain of coronavirus that turns people into zombies. Last year, it was also reported that The Office executive producers Ben Silverman and Paul Lieberstein were developing a remote workplace comedy inspired by the new Covid-19 world.
There’s no word yet on when The Bubble will begin filming, and a release date hasn’t yet been set for the movie on Netflix. This news comes to us from Variety.