The Matrix Co-Director Is Finally Back With A New Movie – But It's Not Science Fiction
It's difficult to encapsulate the importance of Lana and Lilly Wachowski as directors. While the queer crime thriller "Bound" marked the sisters' directorial debut, it was their 1999 hit "The Matrix" that completely changed the landscape of science-fiction cinema forever. In 2021, the franchise's fourth installment, "The Maxtrix Resurrections" was released, but the film was a solo directorial venture from Lana Wachowski. Lilly has not directed a film since 2015's "Jupiter Ascending," but spent time directing season 1 of "Sense 8" and serving as the showrunner for "Work in Progress." The former was yet another sci-fi epic, but the latter is a sweet, semi-autobiographical queer dramedy starring Abby McEnany. It seems that working on this series must have inspired Lilly to continue similar creative ventures because according to a report from Collider, her next feature film is "Trash Mountain" starring Caleb Hearon.
Hearon co-wrote the film with Ruby Caster ("Bleeding Love"), and the story follows a gay man living in Chicago who has to relocate to his hometown in rural Missouri following the death of his father, an obsessive hoarder who has left him an overstuffed house to sift through. The script was described as "hilarious, warm, and emotional" by Collider, and with up-and-comer Hearon in the starring role, "Trash Mountain" sounds like it has the potential to really be something special. As if that wasn't interesting enough, the film is being produced by "Jurassic World" helmer Colin Trevorrow. While the big-budget dino flicks might be how most folks know Trevorrow, "Trash Mountain" sounds like it aligns more with his debut narrative feature, "Safety Not Guaranteed."
All systems are go for Trash Mountain
In a statement to Collider, Lilly Wachowski said she "leapt" at the chance to direct the film after Hearon sent her the script, calling it "beautiful and sad and funny!" Additionally, Wachowski acknowledged that queer stories are more important than they ever have been, as LGBTQIA+ people are being systemically pushed further into the margins. "Our amazing writers, Caleb and Ruby, are a shining light in all this dang darkness," she said.
Additionally, Trevorrow added, "Caleb Hearon and Ruby Caster are true originals and Lilly Wachowski is a living legend. I'm insanely lucky to call them collaborators and friends." Trevorrow is producing under his Metronome Film Co. banner, which is also handling the sci-fi series "Halcyon" and the crime comedy "Deep Cover," both heading to Prime Video. While "Trash Mountain" doesn't yet have an announced distribution plan, it wouldn't be surprising if the film followed suit. Eddie Vaisman and Julia Lebedev are also serving as producers for Sight Unseen, the company being A.V. Rockwell's brilliant and underseen indie drama "A Thousand and One" from 2023.
"Trash Mountain" will hopefully mean we get more feature films from Lilly Wachowski, whose voice and vision has been sorely missed from the big screen. This could also be a huge breakthrough performance for Hearon, who currently writes on the "Big Mouth" spin-off "Human Resources" and appeared in the 2023 SXSW hit "I Used to Be Funny" alongside Rachel Sennott. Hearon is currently on tour with Annie Dirusso, and bits of his stand-up routine frequently go viral on TikTok.