Ruben Östlund may not be competing at Cannes this year — the two-time Palme d’Or winner (The Square, Triangle of Sadness) took his new, still-unfinished film, The Entertainment System Is Down out of contention for the 2026 fest — but he still found time for a quick trip to the Croisette.
The Swedish filmmaker told The Hollywood Reporter he is still deep in post-production for the film, and does not expect it be done before the end of the year. Kirsten Dunst, Daniel Brühl, and Keanu Reeves are among the starry cast in Östlund’s new satire, set on a long-haul flight between England and Australia where the entertainment system fails and passengers are forced to face the existential horror of boredom.
Östlund said he continues to tweak the movie, including adding a new sequence with Succession star Nicholas Braun.
“I’m going to Amsterdam. We’re going to shoot a little additional scene that came up during the editing,” he said. “I got an idea during the editing that I think is really great so we’re going to put that in.”
Östlund began principal photography on The Entertainment System is Down in late January 2024, shooting a remarkable 75 days on a single studio set built around a real Boeing 747 acquired and outfitted specifically for the film.
