07/11/2025 - The star-studded cast is led by Charlie Plummer, Stephen Graham, Toni Collette, Isabela Merced, Maisy Stella and Anthony Hopkins

l-r: Actors Charlie Plummer (© John Sears), Stephen Graham (© Bryan Berlin) and Toni Collette (© Gage Skidmore)

Academy Award-winning firms Vendôme Pictures and Pathé are set to collaborate once again following their partnership on CODA, which won three Oscars. The two banners have announced Ibelin, directed by Oscar nominee Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
film profile], Passengers, Silo). The film will star Charlie Plummer (The Long Walk, Lean on Pete [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), Stephen Graham (Adolescence [+see also:
trailer
series profile], Boiling Point [+see also:
series review
series profile], The Irishman, Rocketman [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Dexter Fletcher
film profile]), Toni Collette (Wayward, Hereditary, Knives Out), Isabela Merced (The Last of Us, Superman), Maisy Stella (My Old Ass) and Anthony Hopkins (The Father [+see also:
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interview: Florian Zeller
film profile], The Two Popes [+see also:
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interview: Fernando Meirelles
film profile]).

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Black Bear is handling international sales and will introduce the title to buyers at the American Film Market (11-16 November), with CAA Media Finance repping US rights. Principal photography is expected to take place in Europe in spring/summer 2026.

Penned by BAFTA nominee Ilaria Bernardini (Citadel: Diana [+see also:
series review
series profile]) and Academy Award nominee Hossein Amini (The Snowman [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Drive, The Wings of the Dove), the screenplay is based on the blog “Musings of Life” by Mats Steen, whose story forms the core of the film. Steen lived with a degenerative muscular disease and spent much of his social life engaged in the online realm of the game World of Warcraft, where he was known as “Ibelin”, a figure admired for his humour, empathy and leadership. The project examines how his online persona revealed – and expanded – the emotional reality of his offline life.

The official synopsis describes the pic as “a celebration of life – tender, funny and profoundly moving; a heartfelt family story intertwined with an epic adventure that explores the power of friendship and the invisible threads that connect us all”.

Notably, a documentary on the same subject helmed by Benjamin Ree, The Remarkable Life of Ibelin [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Benjamin Ree
film profile], premiered last year at Sundance, where it scooped two prizes in the World Cinema Documentary Competition: the Audience Award and the Directing Award. It later went on to receive a Peabody Award at the 85th annual ceremony. The feature helped bring wider international recognition to Mats Steen’s story and the emotional resonance of his online community.

Ibelin is being produced by Philippe Rousselet and Fabrice Gianfermi for Vendôme Pictures (France), Jérôme Seydoux for Pathé (France), and Morten Tyldum and Guri Neby for Neby-Tyldum AS. Vendôme and Pathé are financing the feature. Sarah Finn (Everything Everywhere All at Once, Crash) serves as casting director and executive producer.

Speaking about the project, Rousselet said: “Ibelin is a sensational story that will be told by a remarkable group of storytellers – first and foremost, Morten, who has a rare ability to evoke emotions with films like The Imitation Game and epics such as Passengers and Silo. We have assembled a formidable cast and, with our frequent collaborators at Pathé and the team at Black Bear, are confident that this will be a film that will resonate with buyers and audiences everywhere.”