Anemone (film)

Anemone is an upcoming supernatural horror film directed by Ronan Day-Lewis, in his directorial debut, from a screenplay he co-wrote with his father, Daniel Day-Lewis. It features the latter's return to acting for the first time since Phantom Thread in 2017, alongside Sean Bean, Samuel Bottomley, Safia Oakley-Green and Samantha Morton.

Anemone
Directed by	Ronan Day-Lewis
Written by	Ronan Day-Lewis Daniel Day-Lewis
Starring	Daniel Day-Lewis Sean Bean Samuel Bottomley Safia Oakley-Green Samantha Morton
Cinematography	Ben Fordesman
Production company	Plan B Entertainment
Distributed by	Focus Features (United States) Universal Pictures (International)
Release dates	September 2025 (2025-09) (NYFF) October 3, 2025 (2025-10-03) (United States)
Running time	121 minutes
Countries	United Kingdom United States
Language	English

The film will have its world premiere at the 2025 New York Film Festival, followed by a limited theatrical release in the United States on October 3, 2025, by Focus Features, before expanding a week later on October 10.

Cast

• Daniel Day-Lewis as Ray Stoker
• Sean Bean as Jem Stoker
• Samantha Morton
• Samuel Bottomley
• Safia Oakley-Green

Production

In September 2024, it was announced that Daniel Day-Lewis would be making his acting return after retiring in 2017 following the release of Phantom Thread. Ronan Day-Lewis had been hired to direct the film and co-wrote it with his father, Daniel Day-Lewis. Sean Bean, Samantha Morton, Samuel Bottomley, and Safia Oakley-Green also joined the cast, with Jane Petrie as costume designer and Chris Oddy as production designer.^[1]

Principal photography began on October 1, 2024, in Manchester.^[2] Later that month, while filming in Handbridge in Chester, production was disrupted after traffic wardens posted parking tickets on several of the 1980s prop vehicles that were parked on double-yellow lines. A spokesperson for Cheshire West and Chester Council explained that, while a request for parking technical support vehicles in restricted areas had been granted, this did not include the prop cars, and a separate request for a full road closure application during filming had been rejected as it was assessed as "being too disruptive" for residents.^[3]

Release

Anemone is scheduled to premiere at the 2025 New York Film Festival.^[4] It then will be given a limited theatrical release in the United States on October 3, 2025, expanding nationwide on October 10.^[5]