“Joker 2”, “Maria” by Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp has his eyes on

The upcoming Venice Film Festival is shaping up to be a star-studded affair with Lady Gaga, Joaquin Phoenix, Angelina Jolie, Daniel Craig, Johnny Depp, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Gal Gadot and Ana de Armas among the biggest Hollywood talents likely to attend be present. launch of prestigious titles from the Lido.

Although festival director Alberto Barbera has yet to see several submitted works likely to be selected, a handful of world-famous films have already secured a coveted spot in Venice, even though some of the biggest entries public will probably withdraw out of competition. .

“Joker 2: Folie à Deux,” Todd Phillips’ avant-garde musical sequel to his 2019 Golden Lion-winning film “Joker,” starring Gaga and Phoenix, is a competition, along with Pablo Larraín’s biopic Maria Callas “Maria,” with Jolie in the title role.

Larraín’s two previous tragic female biopics — “Spencer” with Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana and “Jackie” with Natalie Portman as Kennedy Onassis — both launched from the Lido.

Luca Guadagnino’s William S. Burroughs adaptation, “Queer,” in which Daniel Craig plays the famous counterculture author’s alter ego, a marginalized American expat who lives in Mexico and struggles with a heroin addiction , would also be selected for a place in the Venice competition. Outer Banks star Drew Starkey also plays a younger man who the expat becomes madly in love with.

Last year, “Challengers,” the film about Guadagnino’s tennis love triangle, was scheduled to open in Venice out of competition, before being pulled from the festival due to promotional complications caused by the SAG strike. AFTRA.

Also in the mix are the Jon Watts-directed action comedy “Wolfs,” in which Clooney and Pitt play two lone wolves forced to work together to cover up a high-profile crime, and Ron Howard’s survival thriller “Eden” with Jude Law, Ana de Armas, Sydney Sweeney, Vanessa Kirby and Daniel Brühl. But these two titles will probably end up out of competition rather than competing for the Golden Lion.

Julian Schnabel’s crime mystery “In the Hand of Dante” – which is strongly tipped for a place in the Lido competition – features an all-star cast including Gal Gadot, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Gerard Butler, Al Pacino and Martin Scorsese as an elderly wise man. who influenced Dante Alighieri while he wrote “The Divine Comedy”. “Dante” is based on the book of the same name by Nick Tosches, which revolves around a handwritten manuscript of Dante Alighieri’s poem “The Divine Comedy” found in the Vatican library. The poem moves from a priest to a mob boss in New York.

Johnny Depp could also return to Venice after returning to Cannes last year for his portrayal of King Louis XV in “Jeanne Du Barry.” This time, Depp is reportedly starring as the director of “Modì,” his biopic of Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani, starring Italian Riccardo Scamarcio as the bad boy painter and sculptor, who worked primarily in France and became famous for the modern and revolutionary style of his portraits and nudes. Al Pacino plays international art collector Maurice Gangnat.

It will be interesting to see if Depp’s second film, more than 25 years after his critically and commercially derided 1997 neo-Western film, “The Brave” – ​​in which he starred alongside Marlon Brando – does the job in Venice, and if so, to what extent section. Also in question is whether it will help further revive Depp’s career following his high-profile defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard.

Meanwhile, the rich slate of international films strongly tipped for Venice includes Mike Leigh’s “Hard Truths” and Walter Salles’ “I’m Still Here.”

While the Cannes Film Festival gains ground by showcasing films that thrive during awards season, Venice remains the favored destination for streamers and studios looking to create Oscar campaigns.

As previously announced, Isabelle Huppert will chair the jury.

The 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival will take place from August 28 to September. 7.

Elsa Keslassy contributed to this report