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Credit: Focus FeaturesSometimes, even big-name Hollywood stars need someone to lean on. This was especially true with Scarlett Johansson, who recently admitted to becoming extremely dependent on her co-star and fellow Marvel actor Jason Schwartzman while filming the upcoming Asteroid City (2023).
Asteroid City, the latest from critically-acclaimed director Wes Anderson, is set to arrive in theaters this summer. Full of the charmingly standoffish dialogue, pastel color pallets, and symmetrical shots the auteur has become known for, the new movie features many familiar from Anderson’s rotating cast of repeat actors, including Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Adrian Brody, and William DeFoe, among others.
Watch the official trailer for Focus Features’ Asteroid City below:
Set in the 1950s, the film’s stacked cast is rounded out by Johansson and Schwartzman, who play Midge Campbell and Augie Steenbeck, respectively. Midge is a Bette Davis-eque actress who meets Augie, a widowed father of four, in the fictional town of Asteroid City during the annual Junior Stargazer convention. Based on the trailer, it looks like sparks just might be flying between the two.
Defined as a sci-fi romantic comedy, the film will make its global premiere at the 76th Cannes Film Festival later this month before arriving in theaters in June. And ahead of its release, Johansson recently spoke on her relationship with Schwartzman, getting candid about the struggles of being a new parent.
Johansson welcomed her second child and first with Saturday Night Live host Colin Jost in August 2021 and wasted no time getting back to work following her highly-publicized feud with Disney. Apparently, the Academy Award-winning actress was so eager to work with Wes Anderson that despite earning only a little over $4,000 a week for her role in the movie, she showed up on set just eight weeks postpartum.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Johansson explained that she didn’t expect to return to work so soon after giving birth and quickly realized that the postpartum blues are a very real thing. Thankfully, she found support in her “constantly present” co-star Schwartzman, who helped her to run lines and navigate the challenges of returning to set:
It was just so quick, and also I had a little baby, so there was a lot going on. My brain was mostly functioning, but he would help me run lines at any moment. He was constantly present and supportive, and I needed him very much. I would say ‘Please don’t go too far away from me.’ I was trying to stay alert, but he was just great.
It’s heartwarming to hear about the bond Schwartzman and Johansson seem to have formed on the Asteroid City set, but prior to now, the actors have actually known each other for many years, floating in many of the same Hollywood circles.
Additionally, both Johansson and Schwartzman play characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, albeit at entirely different points in the timeline. Johansson famously portrayed Russian spy Natasha Romanoff in the MCU, culminating in 2021’s Black Widow.
Meanwhile, Schwartzman is set to make his franchise debut in Marvel/Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023), the sequel to the animated smash hit, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018). He’s set to voice the villainous Spot, a foe to Shameik Moore’s Miles Morales and his team of Spider-People.
While their characters have and never will interact, it’s nice to imagine Johansson giving Schwartzman tips on navigating Marvel superstardom. Either way, fans can look forward to seeing these two very talented actors in Asteroid City, which arrives in theaters on June 16, 2023.
Will you be going to see Asteroid City in theaters? Let us know in the comments below.