Credit to Ethan Coen: It takes a certain kind of bravery to embark on the second step of a process that people are already at least a tad skeptical about—in this case, continuing his Joel-less solo efforts after the critical side-eye last year’s Drive-Away Dolls received—and then give it a name that seems teed-up for negative headlines. But Coen is, apparently, undaunted, having revealed that his new film Honey Don’t! is headed to theaters on August 22, 2025.
Co-written with his spouse and frequent collaborator Tricia Cooke, the film will reunite Coen with his Drive-Away Dolls star Margaret Qualley, who, between then and now, added The Substance to her increasingly substantive filmography. Now, she’ll play the eponymous Honey O’Donahue, “a small-town private investigator, who delves into a series of strange deaths tied to a mysterious church.” Coen has assembled a well-known set of names to accompany Qualley, too, including starring roles for Aubrey Plaza, Chris Evans (reportedly playing the leader of the aforementioned church), Billy Eichner, and Charlie Day. Coen has previously noted that he and Cooke have, in fact, planned out a “lesbian B-movie trilogy” of film ideas they’ve been kicking around for years, of which Honey is the second installment. (Qualley joked with Deadline this week that she would “be offended” and “upset” if she doesn’t show up in the third.)
Honey Don’t! will have its world premiere at Cannes next month. The film is being released by Focus Features, which previously handled Drive-Away Dolls. (Meanwhile, we feel obligated to note that Joel Coen hasn’t directed a film since his own latest solo effort, 2021’s The Tragedy Of Macbeth; last year, Ethan said he and his brother had been working on writing something together recently, but there’s been absolutely zero noise about them formally collaborating again. Their last movie together was 2018’s The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs.)
