A24 has landed a new erotic thriller after an intense bidding war. There are talks for A-listers to join the movie, including Nicole Kidman, among the few being discussed.
This wouldn’t be Kidman’s first collaboration with A24, as she has previously appeared in the 2024 erotic thriller Babygirl, which has a 76% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The actress won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival for her role, and the movie grossed over $50 million at the box office.
Image via Max
As reported by Deadline, in a real Hollywood “dream come true“, British actor Dylan Brady wrote a spec script, which was originally titled Discretion, but will undergo a name change to avoid confusion with the thriller drama series starring Kidman and Elle Fanning. Brady’s script began a bidding war with nine offers on the table from Netflix, Amazon, Apple, FX, Peacock, and others. Brady previously spoke to Deadline a few months prior about his spec and stated:
“Discretion follows struggling actor Jacob, who is offered a nannying job by a high-flying producer and her movie star husband. Jacob plots to seduce his employers and gain an advantage from their industry connections, but unwittingly walks into a trap.”
Brady discussed that the inspiration came from a friend who took on a job as home-help to a powerful couple and became entwined in their lives, with references to Fatal Attraction and Eyes Wide Shut.
“Erotic thrillers have historically always been very heterosexual, and it’s the marital unit that is the hero that has to be preserved at all costs from an evil s***, who threatens that unity. I thought about what this looks like in 2025. What if the s*** is the hero and there is something rotten in the marriage? I wanted to break form and put a queer lens on it.”
A24 successfully acquired the rights and took the project off the market with a substantial seven-figure offer and has already begun eyeing Kidman and other top actors to lead the erotic thriller. According to the report, while they will be changing the name, the drama will also be undergoing creative tweaks as it moves through the pre-production process.
It’s unclear when more information about A24‘s new erotic thriller will arrive, but Kidman has plenty of experience with the genre now, and with the resurgence of erotic thrillers taking over, including Netflix’s Hancock Park starring Bridgerton‘s Regé-Jean Page.