Recently on social media fans were stunned by the resemblance of Billy Zane to Marlon Brando in a still from the new film Waltzing With Brando, which is slated to premiere in 2025. Zane, made up to look like the legendary star in his Godfather role, looks in the photo like he’s about to make an Oscar play himself for a Serious Actor Biopic. But now that the Waltzing With Brando trailer is here, it turns out this is less of a character study drama and more of a zany buddy comedy about an incredibly eccentric guy.
Based on the memoir of the same name by architect Bernard Judge, Waltzing With Brando “follows Brando (Zane)—then the most famous actor in the world—as he filmed Mutiny On The Bounty and bought a tiny and uninhabitable island in Tahiti,” according to the synopsis (via Variety). “His intent was to escape his hectic Hollywood lifestyle and show the world the path to sustainability. To achieve this goal he plucks Judge (Jon Heder), an obscure but idealistic Los Angeles architect, from his stable existence and convinces him that together they could build the world’s first truly sustainable ecological retreat.”
The Waltzing With Brando trailer is filled with familiar comedic faces; in addition to Napoleon Dynamite‘s Heder, there’s also appearances from Rob Corddry and Oscar winner Richard Dreyfuss. But the biggest laughs go to Zane’s bizarre Brando, who is “working on a process to bring clean, drinkable water to the island, made from my own urine.” Brando has big dreams for his island paradise that Judge has to somehow turn into a reality, like an eel-powered generator and an entire hotel—and he’s got very little money to do it. Written and directed by Bill Fishman, the film also stars Camille Razat (Emily In Paris), Alaina Huffman (Smallville), Tia Carrera (Wayne’s World) and James Jagger (Vinyl).