A24’s “The Riders” Expands Cast as Edward Berger Begins Production

Edward Berger’s next feature for A24 is continuing to take shape.

Michael Smiley, Danny Huston, Camille Cottin and Ulrich Thomsen have joined the cast of The Riders, the filmmaker’s latest project following his Oscar-winning All Quiet on the Western Front. The film is based on Tim Winton’s 1994 novel of the same name and began production today across multiple locations in Europe.

Character details for the newly announced cast remain under wraps. As previously revealed, Brad Pitt stars in the lead role, alongside Coco Greenstone and Julianne Nicholson.

The Riders centers on Scully, an Australian man who sets out on a journey across Europe with his young daughter, Billie, in search of the wife who abruptly abandoned them. The story explores grief, obsession and displacement against a sweeping European backdrop.

The screenplay was adapted by David Kajganich. Producing are Ridley Scott and Michael Pruss for Scott Free, alongside Kajganich, Berger through his Nine Hours banner, and Pitt with Jeremy Kleiner and Dede Gardner for Plan B Entertainment. A24 is financing the film and will handle worldwide distribution.

The project reunites Scott Free, Berger and Kajganich following their previous collaboration on AMC’s The Terror. Development began more than a decade ago when Kajganich first brought Winton’s novel to Scott Free, where it ultimately caught Berger’s attention.

Smiley was most recently seen in Apple TV+’s Bad Sisters and FX’s Alien: Earth. Huston’s recent credits include Paramount’s The Naked Gun reboot, following earlier roles in films such as The Aviator and The Constant Gardener. Cottin is best known internationally for Call My Agent!, while Thomsen most recently appeared in the HBO series Lanterns.