Martin McDonagh's Wild Horse Nine opened at the Venice Film Festival Thursday morning to a rapturous reception, with the cast and director facing a press conference crowd that included at least one journalist who told Malkovich he could start writing his Oscar acceptance speech.
The suggestion drew applause from the audience. Malkovich, 72, responded with characteristic deflection. "I never feel in competition with any of them because generally I love what they do," he said. "The nicest thing is that the film gets attention, and this film has several terrific performers in it, and is beautifully written and beautifully directed, and that's what matters the most to me. But thank you for your kind words."
According to Deadline, award season prognosticators already place Malkovich firmly in the best actor conversation alongside Matt Damon, Tom Cruise, Robert Pattinson, Andrew Scott, Sebastian Stan, and Javier Bardem. Malkovich has two previous Oscar nominations, one in 1985 and one in 1994. He told the Venice audience he has no plans to retire.
The film is set just before the 1973 Chilean coup and stars Malkovich and Sam Rockwell as CIA agents Chris and Lee, dispatched from Santiago to Easter Island by their bureau chief, MJ, played by Steve Buscemi. As the two longtime partners wrestle with their dark pasts and present conspiracies, Chris forms a bond with a pair of rebellious students, played by Mariana di Girolamo and Ailín Salas, which threatens to upend everyone's time on the remote island. Parker Posey and Tom Waits also appear in the film.
McDonagh and producer Graham Broadbent told the press that Wild Horse Nine was only the second film ever to shoot on Easter Island, which the filmmakers and actors described as a considerable privilege.
It is McDonagh's first film since The Banshees of Inisherin, which earned nine Oscar nominations in 2023, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. McDonagh already holds seven Oscar nominations and one win. A second journalist at the Venice press conference predicted multiple major awards for the movie.
Searchlight has set a November 6, 2026 theatrical release date.
