What is “The Phoenician Scheme”? The First Trailer for Wes Anderson’s Latest Offers Colorful Clues
The first trailer for Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme wastes no time letting you know just how many stars have signed up for Anderson’s latest caper. Benicio Del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Riz Ahmed, Mathieu Amalric, Jeffrey Wright, Richard Ayoade, Scarlett Johansson, and Benedict Cumberbatch—many of them returning players in Anderson’s meticulously detailed oeuvre.
The trailer opens with a plane crash, with Del Toro’s business titan in the fields of armaments and aviation, Zsa-zsa Korda, going down with the plane. Korda is no stranger to plane crashes; however, this latest tumble from the sky is his sixth, and he survives the crash again. He has ten children, nine boys and “one nun,” Sister Liesel (Threapleton). Liesel is the one whom Zsa-zsa has appointed sole heir to his estate, and he involves her in his biggest project yet, one that is the locus of considerable interest from competing parties. A dangerous game is afoot, and it’s a game that look and feel only like a Wes Anderson movie could, with perfectly framed shots, immaculately constructed sets and costumes and props, and Anderson’s bespoke absurdist style that doesn’t completely hide the real feeling embedded at the core of even his most surreal stories.
The Phoenician Scheme comes from a story Anderson wrote with Roman Coppola, a longtime collaborator. As are composer Alexandre Desplat, editor Barney Pilling, and production designer Adam Stockhausen.
Check out the trailer below. The Phoenician Scheme arrives in theaters on May 30.
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Featured image: (L to R) Benicio Del Toro as Zsa-Zsa Korda and Mia Threapleton as Liesl in director Wes Anderson’s THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of TPS Productions/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.
