Anemone: Release date news, cast details, and more about the upcoming Daniel Day-Lewis film

Daniel Day-Lewis is stepping out of retirement for Anemone, a haunting new drama that pairs the three-time Oscar winner with his son, first-time feature director Ronan Day-Lewis. Their father-son collaboration has already set the industry abuzz, with Focus Features positioning the film as a major fall release.

The film marks Lewis's return to screens after an eight-year break, and from everything we've seen of Anemone so far, it feels like a fitting reunion for the actor with Hollywood. Here's everything you need to know about Anemone, and what Lewis is bringing back to the table.

What is Anemone about?

The film is set to premiere at the New York Film Festival, who notes that the film "begins as a middle-aged man (Bean) sets out from his suburban home on a journey into the woods, where he reconnects with his estranged hermit brother (Day-Lewis). Bonded by a mysterious, complicated past, the men share a fraught, if occasionally tender relationship—one that was forever altered by shattering events decades earlier."

The synopsis further reads,

"An emotional powerhouse, this directorial debut is assured in both small details and grand gestures as it charts the path toward familial redemption against all odds. In addition to its unflinching lead performances, Anemone features standout supporting work from Morton and Bottomley, and sensationally expressive widescreen cinematography by Ben Fordesman.”

Who is in the cast and crew for Anemone?

18th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards - Press Room - Source: Getty

The film is being led by Daniel Day-Lewis, as Ray Stoker. Joining him is Sean Bean as Jem Stoker and Samantha Morton, Samuel Bottomley and Safia Oakley-Green.

In September 2024, cinema fans rejoiced as Lewis announced his long-awaited return to acting since Phantom Thread in 2017, this time collaborating with his son Ronan Day-Lewis, who directs and co-wrote Anemone.

The film features Jane Petrie’s costume design and Chris Oddy’s production design. Filming kicked off in Manchester, with cinematography by Ben Fordesman.

Is there a trailer for Anemone?

Yes! Focus Features dropped the film's first trailer on 21 August, 2025. The trailer mostly focuses on a tense verbal exchange between Lewis' character Ray Stoker and Bean's character Jem Stoker.

The video teases sharp, unsettling dialogue, “The war was the crime and we were the phantom soldiers,” Ray confesses, alongside Bean’s blunt reminder as he says, “You’re going to hell, brother.”

This back-and-forth anchors a story that’s part family reunion, part descent into darkness. Co-written by Daniel and Ronan Day-Lewis, Anemone is being produced by Brad Pitt’s Plan B.