Wes Anderson's 'The French Dispatch' Cast Adds Christoph Waltz

Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch cast is already stacked, but a few more names won't hurt. Anderson recently revealed Christoph Waltz has a small part in the film, marking the first time the actor has worked with Anderson. Anderson also revealed some new plot details, stating that the film focused on an American journalist in France.

Let's take a look at the ridiculously large cast of Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch, shall we? Frances McDormand, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Saoirse Ronan, Tilda Swinton, Willem Dafoe, Bob Balaban, Henry Winkler, Jeffrey Wright, Adrien Brody, Kate Winslet, Timothée Chalamet, Benicio del Toro, Jason Schwartzman and more. Many of these actors have worked with Anderson before, but there are a few new players as well: Benicio Del Toro, Timothy Chalamet, Kate Winslet, Jeffrey Wright. And now you can add yet another new Anderson players: Christoph Waltz.

According to a new interview with French outlet Charente Libre (via The Playlist), Waltz has a small part in the film – one scene, to be specific. Waltz isn't the only one with a brief appearance in the movie: Bill Murray apparently was only on set for two days. I suppose this is to be expected when you have a cast this big. Anderson did something similar with The Grand Budapest Hotel, where he had many of his frequent collaborators show up for a quick cameo.

Waltz is an excellent actor...when he's working with Quentin Tarantino. For some reason, his non-Tarantino work has been questionable. Perhaps Anderson will be the next filmmaker besides Tarantino able to get a great performance out of the actor.

The French Dispatch was previously described as "a love letter to journalists set at an outpost of an American newspaper in a fictional 20th-century French city and centers on three storylines." Anderson provides some new details in the interview: an American journalist running a magazine in France who is fighting to write what he wants to write. Anderson also added that "it's not a movie about freedom of the press," but that some of the plot points will reflect real-world issues.

I know some people have grown weary of Anderson's inability to break out of his cinematic comfort zone, and based on the cast here along, it's clear The French Dispatch is going to stick to familiar territory. But I remain a fan of his work, and I'm happy that he's making a live-action movie again. His recent stop-motion effort Isle of Dogs was good, but I much prefer his live-action work, and felt that Grand Budapest Hotel was one of his best movies to date.

The French Dispatch doesn't have a release date yet, but according to Anderson, the film "could be ready before the end of the year."