Annie Baker Redefines Her Cinema With Secretive A24 Project: From Quiet Triumph to Mysterious Return
Little is known — but expectations are quietly building fast.
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Annie Baker, known for her delicate and atmospheric stage work, made a quiet yet striking entrance into filmmaking with Janet Planet — a slow-burn, coming-of-age tale that quietly premiered at Telluride in 2023. Though its limited release didn’t break box office records (it earned just under $1 million), it garnered critical acclaim, including the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best First Film and two Spirit Award nominations. A modest debut? Perhaps. But one that turned heads among those paying attention.
Now, Baker is stepping behind the camera once more with a new project intriguingly titled Ancient History. Once again, she’s teaming up with indie powerhouse A24, suggesting a continued commitment to intimate, character-focused storytelling — and likely, a refusal to cater to trends.
So far, plot details remain under wraps, but we do know that Sophia Lillis (I Am Not Okay with This) and Daniel Zolghadri will take on lead roles. New faces, familiar restraint. A fall 2025 production start is scheduled, pointing toward a likely 2026 release.
Is Ancient History a thematic sequel to Janet Planet, or something entirely different cloaked in minimalism and mystery? One suspects that Baker, ever subtle in her choices, will not offer easy answers.
