It’s been a while since Joel and Ethan Coen made an all-out comedy. Since 2008’s Burn After Reading, they’ve shot a heavily personal piece of existentialism (A Serious Man), a western (True Grit), and a dark look into the ’60s folk scene (Inside Llewyn Davis). But with their new movie, Hail Caesar—scheduled to land February 5, 2016—they appear to be dipping back into their comedy roots to complete the so-called “Numbskull Trilogy” they started with O Brother, Where Art Thou? and continued with Intolerable Cruelty. Given that George Clooney is again set to star, there’s definitely something to that notion. He’ll be joined by Josh Brolin, Channing Tatum, Ralph Fiennes, Tilda Swinton, Scarlett Johansson, and Jonah Hill, with an appearance by Alex Karpovsky.
Karpovsky, best known for his role as newly elected community board member Ray in the Girls universe, shared a few details about Hail Caesar on the most recent episode of WTF With Marc Maron. Painting it as “wacky and zany” and similar in style to the Coens’ The Hudsucker Proxy, he confirmed the film is set in ’50s Hollywood and centers on a “fixer” played by Brolin who helps a studio actor (Clooney) get out of “a situation that…uh…needs fixing.” Karpovsky had a minor role in Inside Llewyn Davis, and sounded thrilled to be called back by the Coens and get to work with Clooney and the rest of the cast. He even called Clooney “genuinely a great guy” and a fan of “really elaborate pranks on YouTube on his iPhone and stuff.”
With a stacked ensemble that sounds like it’s having fun on the set, Hail Caesar should be primed to delight fans of the Coens’ dry humor. The only (slight) disappointment from this news is that Karpovsky didn’t specify which YouTube videos Clooney showed the cast. Jackass clips? The Eric Andre Show? What gets the Silver Fox in stitches? The speculation continues.