Werner Herzog‘s “Bucking Fastard” won’t be premiering at Cannes despite speculation that it might be appearing at the film festival.
“‘Bucking Fastard’ was invited as an official selection at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival which the filmmakers declined,” a spokesperson for the film said in a statement.
The reason that “Bucking Fastard” won’t be playing at that the Palais is that it wasn’t offered a Cannes competition slot. Herzog had hoped that stars Rooney and Kate Mara, who are said to give searing performances as twin sisters, would be eligible for awards, according to a source close to the filmmakers. Cannes initially included “Bucking Fastard” in their first announcement about its lineup, which added to the confusion.
Cannes organizers declined to comment. but, Herzog’s stance appears to be similar to that of Jim Jarmusch, who turned down the 2025 edition of the festival after Cannes didn’t give his most recent film “Father Mother Sister Brother” a competition slot. It went on to premiere at Venice, where it won the Golden Lion, the festival’s top prize, before going on to gross $8.2 million globally.
“I submitted it to Cannes, and we were told, ‘It’s not selected for competition. We might put it in a different section,’” Jarmusch told IndieWire last year. “To which I responded, ‘I haven’t made a film in five years. I’ve been in Cannes many times. That’s not appropriate to me,’” he said. “Competition’s very important to me in Cannes, not for the competition, but for the profile of the release of my film, so I can start getting the investors paid back, and I can make another film. It’s not about the awards.”
“Bucking Fastard” follows “Jean and Joan Holbrooke (the Mara sisters), who in search of an imaginary land where true love is possible, start digging a tunnel through a mountain range,” according to an official plot description. Orlando Bloom and Domhnall Gleeson are part of the ensemble. HanWay and Gersh are handling sales of the film.
In an interview with Variety last year, Kate Mara described working on “Bucking Fastard” as “one of the greatest experiences ever” and “like a dream scenario.”
“Werner Herzog, there’s nobody like him on the planet,” she added. “So to be able to have that experience with him was magical. But then to have it with my sister, it’s sort of what dreams are made of.”
Source: variety.com
