Jenna Ortega is leveling up in the most ambitious way possible. By choosing Leos Carax—one of cinema's most visionary auteurs—she's signaling she's done being typecast as just a Netflix darling. This is a calculated leap into prestige filmmaking that could redefine her career trajectory entirely.
Insiders note Ortega has been quietly seeking projects that break from her mainstream comfort zone. Sources say she turned down multiple big-budget franchise offers to pursue this role. The timing is notable: just as 'Wednesday' Season 2 drama swirls, she's making a very different kind of statement about where her artistic ambitions lie.
Production begins Spring 2027; Carax's last film 'Annette' opened Cannes 2021 and won him the Best Director award. Producer Hugo Sélignac called working with Carax 'a personal ambition' for years. Full cast will be announced September 2026.
Jenna Ortega just played her most unexpected card yet—and honestly, it's refreshing. Trading zombie procedurals for existential road trips through post-apocalyptic wastelands? That's the kind of risk that separates actresses from artists.
In one of the most jaw-dropping casting announcements to hit Cannes this year, Jenna Ortega is officially attached to star as the lead in Leos Carax's enigmatic new film 'Lily May B.' The project, unveiled during the festival circuit on May 20, marks a dramatic pivot for the actress best known for her runaway success with Netflix's 'Wednesday' and Tim Burton's 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice'—and industry observers are already calling it a career-defining gamble.
The French auteur Carax, whose cult classics include 'Holy Motors' and 'Les Amants du Pont-Neuf,' is coming off perhaps his greatest triumph: 2021's 'Annette,' a bold musical romance starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard that opened Cannes to thunderous applause and earned Carax the Best Director prize. Now he's setting his sights on Ortega for what promises to be an equally audacious follow-up. According to Variety, production is slated to begin in Spring 2027, with the rest of the A-list cast set to drop in September 2026.
The film's cryptic synopsis alone should tell you this isn't your typical Hollywood fare. Described as a dystopian, surreal road movie, 'Lily May B' follows 'a little girl, a young woman and a young boy' who each harbor secrets too heavy to bear. They meet in an 'end-of-the-world world' and ride 'a big motorcycle through empty cities, deserted freeways, immemorial forests.' The tagline asks: 'In search of who they were; in search of a place to B, maybe?' Carax himself offered only this enigmatic tease: 'Once upon a time, this is what destroyed us, and this is what kept us alive.' The project is being produced by Hugo Sélignac at Chi-Fou-Mi Productions, a Mediawan banner that has five films at Cannes this year—including Jeanne Herry's Palme d'Or contender 'Garance' and Quentin Dupieux's 'Full Phil.' For Sélignac, partnering with Carax represents years of personal aspiration finally realized.
'To me, Leos Carax is one of the reasons I fell in love with Cinema,' he said in a statement. 'Having the chance to embark on this first journey alongside him means a great deal to me. "Lily May B" carries forward his singular vision with the freedom, raw emotion, and visual power that are uniquely his.
Seeing this universe meet Jenna Ortega's immense talent today feels simply natural.' Make no mistake: Ortega is represented by heavy hitters CAA, Jeff Hynick, and Viewpoint—all of whom clearly see the strategic value in this move. After breakout roles in mainstream horror and television, this arthouse turn could position her for an entirely different tier of awards consideration while expanding her artistic range beyond the franchises that made her a household name.
