The first poster for The Phoenician Scheme is out, here's everything we know about Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston movie

The Phoenician Scheme is director Wes Anderson's latest project, which means we're in for another ride down a colorful, perfectly symmetrical, and whimsical world full of dread and deadpan. The film premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and is scheduled to hit the theaters on May 30, 2025, across the United States. However, not much has been revealed about this star-studded Anderson project. Even the logline on IMDb is as simple and scant as:

"The story of a family and a family business."

If you've caught up on Anderson's filmography, then you'll know that it's what most of his films are about. So, is this another self-referential meta-venture into Anderson's mind and artistic style (like Asteroid City)? Well, the first poster doesn't help in that regard either. Here, take a look:

It shows Benicio del Toro's character sitting in a bathtub with a cigar in his mouth and a glass of drink next to him. There's a book right behind him, along with photos of twelve people that he is or isn't related to. Who are these people? Here's what we know so far.

What is The Phoenician Scheme really about?

A few weeks after the first poster, Focus Features shared another poster for The Phoenician Scheme. It shows Del Toro's character standing with arrows across his body. One of them also has a flame at the other end. However, it looks like a painting featuring him. So, again, what is The Phoenician Scheme really about? Are those arrows from those who want to see him dead?

The official trailer, which dropped online on April 7, offers a few more pieces to the puzzle to help us make sense of the posters.

Benicio Del Toro plays Zsa-zsa Korda, an international businessman and a father of ten, who chooses his daughter and nun Liesl (Mia Threapleton) as the sole heir to his estate. The trailer calls Korda a "maverick in the fields of armaments and aviation" and "among the richest men in Europe." It shows Korda injured after a plane crash, which is reportedly his "sixth recorded plane crash."

It begs the question: Is he intentionally crashing his planes? And is that his absurd way to reconnect with his family? The trailer doesn't offer all the answers, but it hints at a dysfunctional relationship between Korda and Liesl. He seems keen on making her open up to him.

As they try to mend their relationship, some people try to dismantle Korda's business enterprise. That might just be the reason behind his desire to rekindle their father-daughter bond after six years of distance. After all, he doesn't reveal why he suddenly wants to name her as the heir. We'll get our answers on May 30, when it arrives in the theaters.

Who stars in The Phoenician Scheme?

The cast of The Phoenician Scheme stars recurring faces from Wes Anderson's previous projects, such as Jeffrey Wright and Richard Ayoade, along with some new ones like Benicio Del Toro and Mia Threapleton.

Here's the list of the cast for this film: