We move steadily closer to a new Paul Thomas Anderson movie. Jeff Sneider has reported the film, so far only known as BC Project, has a title: The Battle of Baktan Cross.
Cast-wise, the Baktan Cross stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Regina Hall, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Teyana Taylor, Wood Harris, and Chase Infiniti. World of Reel speculated in March 2023 that PTA’s next project would be an “adaptation of Pynchon’s Vineland.” The article included multiple quotes from Anderson about Vineland. And, remember, he had previously adapted Thomas Pynchon’s Inherent Vice. In February of 2024, Daniel Richtman said “I have also confirmed the movie will adapt Thomas Pynchon’s novel, Vineland but making it contemporary. The original novel was set in Reagan-era America, so he’s updating it to modern US.”
That begs the question, why not just call it Vineland? One reason might be the updated setting. Remember, There Will Be Blood was a loose adaptation of Upton Sinclair’s novel Oil!. But PTA felt he made meaningful enough changes to the story that it deserved to stand on its own. The same thing could be true here. But the film won’t come out until August 2025. So the title isn’t writ in stone.
Personally, I can’t wait. I loved what PTA did with Inherent Vice. I haven’t read Vineland, just Gravity’s Rainbow. But I truly believe Paul Thomas Anderson is the greatest living filmmaker. So a new project from him is always an event. Especially when it’s adapting a novel by one of the 20th century’s most brilliant novelists.
