HOT RIGHT NOW
AUBREY PLAZA IS CASTING A SPELL…
When Aubrey Plaza appeared on the cover of MovieMaker magazine this summer, Edgar Wright sent his congratulations. “He genuinely thought I was the new Tomb Raider,” said Plaza on The Tonight Show. The cover picture was actually a still of her title character in the low-budget dramatic thriller Emily The Criminal, but Wright took one look at the vest and what he took to be a gun strap – actually a purse strap – and thought his pal had landed the role of Lara Croft.
Oh well, for Wright and anyone else longing to see the always-ace Plaza get her action on, she’s heading up Guy Ritchie’s Operation Fortune: Ruse De Guerre in 2023, alongside Jason Statham, Josh Hartnett and Hugh Grant. There’s also the enticing news that she’s been cast in Agatha: Coven Of Chaos. A spin-off of MCU series WandaVision, Agatha… will revolve around Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha Harkness, the friendly, rather nosy neighbour of Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff who transpired to be a powerfully evil witch. No news yet on who Plaza will play in the show that will also star Heartstopper’s Joe Locke, but she’s reportedly a villain. Which suits us fine: the thought of Plaza and Hahn offering a Parks And Recreation reunion was exciting enough; to have them (possibly) wigging out as warring witches is a spellbinding prospect.
Plaza has always been a Teasers favourite, but 2022 took our admiration to new heights. First she excelled in a dramatic role as a debt-ridden gig worker drawn to a life of ever-escalating scams in Emily The Criminal, while also donning a producer’s hat. And then she embarked on a corrosive European vacation in Season 2 of Mike White’s immaculate The White Lotus, splashing around in themes of class and carnality. Always magnetic, Plaza is one of the most consistently funny performers out there. But the humour bristles. She’s drawn to complicated characters with a dark side. “I only have myself to bring to any role,” she says. “And for better or for worse, I guess I have a certain edge.”
It sharpens everything she touches.
AGATHA: COVEN OF CHAOS RELEASES ON DISNEY+ IN WINTER 2023. OPERATION FORTUNE: RUSE DE GUERRE IS CURRENTLY AWAITING A UK RELEASE DATE.