Back in September, Harry Styles fans – who have waited since 2017’s Dunkirk to see him back up on the big screen – got some news to rejoice about when he joined Olivia Wilde‘s latest directorial effort, a period piece called Don’t Worry Darling. Brought in to replace Shia LaBeouf, Styles will star alongside Florence Pugh and Chris Pine in the 1950s-set film, which reportedly takes place in a California desert utopian community. Sounds great!
Production on the film had begun recently, but Deadline reported on November 4 that everything had to be shut down while filming in Los Angeles after a crew member tested positive for COVID-19 during routine testing. As a result, per protocol, the film will stop production for 14 days while the folks involved can isolate.
The situation with Don’t Worry Darling recalls a similar scenario on the set of The Batman in September, which likewise had to be shut down after title star Robert Pattinson tested positive for COVID-19. Pattinson had to isolate for 14 days, though production resumed quickly, with director Matt Reeves reportedly determined to complete as much of the film as he could without its star.
Don’t Worry Darling is Wilde’s directorial follow-up to 2019’s Booksmart and again features a script co-penned by her writing parter Katie Silberman. Wilde will also appear in the film, which also stars KiKi Layne, Nick Kroll, Gemma Chan, Kate Berlant, and others. Earlier this month, Layne wrote on Instagram about how meaningful it was to get cast in the film during a year of such turmoil and uncertainty.
“Honestly, I had given up on believing that I would work on anything this year. Because after all the no’s and cancellations and postponements and just all around craziness of this year, I said forget it, I just won’t be on a set again until sometime in 2021,” she wrote. “But I heard a whisper from God recently and a bit reluctantly I started praying again that I would get to work this year. I started fighting for the faith that I had had when I came into this year to be renewed. And as I started praying and fighting to believe again, along comes this project.”
Wilde, meanwhile, told MTV News in 2019 that she planned to keep creating in new ways after Booksmart: “I pay attention. I read a lot. I find myself exploring every kind of corner of storytelling. I try to never let myself be boxed in.”
