Key Takeaways
- Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley will reunite for Hold on to Your Angels, their second film together after the acclaimed Hamnet.
- Mescal will play a “hell‑bound outlaw”; Buckley will portray a “ferocious shepherd of lost souls.”
- The story is set on the deteriorating bayous of South Louisiana and explores a catastrophic love affair amid an endangered way of life.
- Director Benh Zeitlin, creator of Beasts of the Southern Wild, wrote the script and will helm the project, calling it an “outlaw romance for the end of America.”
- Production is slated to begin in February 2027, delayed by Mescal’s commitment to a four‑film Beatles biopic in which he plays Paul McCartney.
- Plan B describes the film as an “epic love story” blending intense realism, myth, and magic, positioning it as a potential awards contender.
Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley have quickly moved from the awards circuit of Hamnet to their next joint venture, Hold on to Your Angels. The Irish actors, who earned widespread praise for their portrayals of William Shakespeare and Agnes Shakespeare in Chloe Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel, concluded that film’s award season in March 2024 with Buckley taking home the Best Actress Oscar. Rather than pausing, the duo have already secured their follow‑up project, signaling a strong creative partnership that audiences and critics alike have come to anticipate.
Hold on to Your Angels will be written and directed by Benh Zeitlin, the visionary behind the 2012 Oscar‑nominated Beasts of the Southern Wild. Zeitlin’s statement to multiple trade outlets frames the new film as “the most impossible love story I’ve ever witnessed – an outlaw romance for the end of America, set on the crumbling edge of South Louisiana.” He adds that the idea has been gestating since the actress who would become Pam Harper—Little Jo in Beasts—first walked into an audition for his debut feature seventeen years ago. For Zeitlin, the film serves both as a love letter to a vanishing way of life and a rallying cry for empathy in a fractured world.
The narrative centers on two contrasting yet intertwined characters. Mescal’s “hell‑bound outlaw” is a rugged, morally ambiguous figure whose existence teeters on the edge of legality and redemption. Buckley’s “ferocious shepherd of lost souls” is a strong, enigmatic woman who guides and protects those who have been cast aside by society. Their paths converge in the fragile, water‑logged landscapes of South Louisiana’s bayou—a setting that is simultaneously beautiful and imperiled. As the environment deteriorates, the characters experience a “catastrophic love” that pulls them deeper into the decaying paradise that surrounds them, mirroring the film’s broader themes of loss, resilience, and the search for meaning amid ecological and social upheaval.
Plan B, the production company behind the film, has described Hold on to Your Angels as an “epic love story” that fuses intense realism with mythic and magical elements. This blend echoes the tonal balance Zeitlin achieved in Beasts of the Southern Wild, where grounded, documentary‑style cinematography coexisted with lyrical, fantastical storytelling. By situating the romance within a landscape that is literally sinking beneath rising waters and cultural erosion, the film aims to amplify the personal stakes of its protagonists while commenting on larger existential threats facing coastal communities worldwide.
A significant logistical factor shaping the film’s timeline is Paul Mescal’s ongoing commitment to a four‑part Beatles biopic in which he portrays Paul McCartney. The actor’s schedule for that project occupies most of 2025 and 2026, pushing the start of principal photography for Hold on to Your Angels to February 2027. This delay allows both actors to finish their current obligations and gives the production team ample time to secure locations, design the intricate bayou sets, and develop the visual effects needed to depict the region’s gradual submersion.
The reunion of Mescal and Buckley arrives at a moment when both performers are enjoying heightened industry visibility. Mescal’s breakout role in Normal People and subsequent turns in Aftersun and The Lost Daughter have established him as a versatile leading man capable of handling both intimate drama and large‑scale blockbuster work. Buckley, whose accolades include an Oscar for The Lost Daughter and multiple BAFTA wins, continues to be celebrated for her ability to inhabit complex, emotionally resonant characters. Their chemistry in Hamnet—noted for its raw intensity and nuanced portrayal of a marital relationship under artistic pressure—has heightened anticipation for how they will navigate the darker, more mythic terrain of Hold on to Your Angels.
In summary, Hold on to Your Angels promises to be a ambitious, emotionally charged feature that brings together two of Ireland’s most talented actors with a director renowned for crafting lyrical, socially conscious cinema. Set against the evocative, endangered backdrop of South Louisiana’s bayou, the film seeks to explore love, loss, and ecological crisis through a narrative that balances gritty realism with mythic grandeur. With production slated to begin in early 2027, audiences have several years to anticipate what could become another landmark collaboration in the careers of Mescal, Buckley, and Zeitlin.