Albert Serra is back to doing what Albert Serra does best. He’s telling everyone how great he is, and that his next movie is a masterpiece.
In an interview with Cineyteatro, the Catalan director said his first English-language film, "Out of This World," is about almost completed, and should be done by the end of the year. That timeline lines it up nicely for Cannes 2027.
The cast is Riley Keough and F. Murray Abraham. Keough, the latter stepped in after Kristen Stewart exited the project in 2025 — he criticized her for doing that. Abraham, the "Amadeus" Oscar winner, has been on board since day one.
As for what it's about, Serra called it "a bit of comedy, with other things a little serious because it is at the beginning of the war in Ukraine." That said, don't expect a war movie. He says the film has "nothing or very little to do" with the conflict, and is more focused on economic tensions between Russia and the U.S.
More astounding, Serra shot roughly 500 hours of footage, and admits the final cut "sounds like it will be a little long." Shocking. He compared editing to war — "you know how to start, but not how to end" — and expects post to wrap "in January or at the end of the year." A 3-hour movie is nearly guaranteed. Maybe four.
Of course, Serra being Serra, he’s already calling it a masterpiece.
Yes, I know it will be very good, a masterpiece, and it will also be fun and positive, which is perhaps the most original aspect today, because all movies are about conflicts. Everyone has problems, disasters, everything is unpleasant, and I'm not interested now. I don't give a damn.
Now, before anyone criticizes the self-praise, this is nothing new for Serra. The man has been his own biggest hype machine for many years now. Sight & Sound once ran an interview with him titled "I am the best one," and he's the self-proclaimed "greatest director". Just last year, at a talk in Barcelona, he declared that 99% of cinema is stupid, 100% in the case of Spanish cinema. While cutting "Afternoons of Solitude," he claimed he'd found an atmosphere nobody had ever achieved before. He also once called "Story of My Death" "unfuckable," explaining that his films are unfuckable because they're unique. And on actors? "They should pay me to be in the film." So this is all very on brand.
The thing is, he usually backs it up. "Pacifiction" was a Cannes Competition highlight that topped plenty of year-end lists, and "Afternoons of Solitude" took the Golden Shell at San Sebastián — and was one of the best films I saw in 2025. Here’s looking at another major film from him, and it’s coming soon.
You don't see this every day: a major filmmaker, mid-release, admitting he's just not very good at his job. That’s exactly what Aaron Sorkin has done as “The Social Reckoning” dies a slow death in theaters.