‘The Menu’ Teaser: Anya Taylor-Joy Bites Into a Luxe Culinary Experience with a Sinister Twist

Samantha Bergeson
·2 min read
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Producer Adam McKay is serving up a sinister take on generational wealth in “The Menu.” Following Oscar-nominated “Don’t Look Up,” the mega-producer mocks the elite culinary world with the dark comedy “The Menu,” starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult as Margot and Tyler, a wealthy young couple who feast on surprising delicacies curated by a famed chef, played by Ralph Fiennes, on a remote island.

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“Succession” director and executive producer Mark Mylod helms the film, which is set to be released in theaters November 18 from Searchlight Pictures, positioning “The Menu” with a prime seat at the 2023 awards season table.

The trailer shows Fiennes introducing the menu, explaining to his guests that over the course of a few hours, diners will “ingest fat, salt, protein, and at times, entire ecosystems.” The rich really do consume all.

While Tyler cries at the beauty of the delicacies, Margot is skeptical of the whole ordeal — and is starkly out of place as chefs start butchering their own guests.

Hong Chau, Janet McTeer, Judith Light, Reed Birney, Paul Adelstein, Aimee Carrero, Arturo Castro, Mark St. Cyr, Rob Yang, and John Leguizamo also star. Screenwriters Will Tracy (a writer on “Succession” as well as “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”) and Seth Reiss (writing supervisor on “Late Night With Seth Meyers”) penned the film, and Betsy Koch also co-produces along with McKay.

Lead Taylor-Joy will next be seen in David O. Russell’s 1930s-set crime comedy “Amsterdam,” as well as George Miller’s “Furiosa,” a “Mad Max: Fury Road” prequel.

Co-star Hoult is set to lead vampire comedy “Renfield” along with Nicholas Cage, Awkwafina, and Ben Schwartz, before appearing in David Zellner’s alien drama “Alpha Gang.”

Meanwhile, producer McKay wrapped HBO’s controversial series “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” before executive-producing the Amy Adams–led miniseries “Kings of America,” based on the true story behind Walmart. McKay’s “Bad Blood” Theranos feature is still in the works starring Jennifer Lawrence as Elizabeth Holmes, with McKay writing, directing, and producing.

Citing his spotlight on the exaggerated wealth in “Succession” and now “The Menu,” McKay previously told IndieWire, “The key to all of it is income inequality. If we could really solve that, it will solve our political problems and the climate crisis as well. That’s my soapbox.”

“The Menu” premieres November 18 in theaters.

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