Austin Butler will headline and executive produce Edward Berger’s time travel feature, The Barrier. Described as a mix of Interstellar and Top Gun, the project has garnered a lot of interest as the U.S. prepares to celebrate Thanksgiving and will likely incite a bidding war among interested production houses.
Austin Butler cast in Interstellar and Top Gun-like movie, The Barrier
Butler, one of the biggest stars of Hollywood today, and Berger, one of the most in-demand filmmakers, have reportedly decided to collaborate on The Barrier, a feature-length adaptation of a short story by MacMillan Hedges. Berger will develop the movie from a screenplay that Hedges penned.
Butler was recently seen in the Apple TV+ war drama miniseries Masters of the Air and portrayed Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two. Butler received an Oscar nomination for his outing as the titular rock and roll icon in Baz Luhrmann’s 2022 epic biographical drama Elvis.
Originally from Anaheim, California, Butler has been active in the entertainment industry since the 2000s. He is said to have begun his career with the uncredited role of Zippy Brewster in Nickelodeon’s live-action sitcom Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide before working in shows like Life Unexpected, Switched at Birth, The Carrie Diaries, and The Shannara Chronicles. Butler made his big-screen debut with 2009’s Aliens in the Attic and has since appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Jeff Nichols’ The Bikeriders.
Edward Berger garnered international fame with his 2022 anti-war movie All Quiet on the Western Front. It received widespread critical acclaim and earned several accolades, including four Oscars (for Best International Feature Film, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, and Best Original Score). His newest feature, Conclave, had its premiere at the 51st Telluride Film Festival on August 30, 2024, and has also accumulated rave reviews.
