“Killing Eve” Emmy winner Jodie Comer and “The Queen’s Gambit” star Harry Melling are set to star opposite each other in a new musical film. “Stuffed,” from writer and director Theo Rhys — marking his feature debut — begins production this month.
The film expands on Rhys’ short of the same name, which won the Midnight Jury and Audience Awards at the SXSW Film Festival back in 2021 and earned a BAFTA nomination in 2022. The story centers on Araminta (Comer) and Bernie (Melling), who develop an unexpected love story over taxidermy. Yes, really.
Araminta is a taxidermist who secretly hopes to one day stuff a human. Meanwhile, Bernie is so afraid of being forgotten when he dies that he volunteers himself as her specimen.
Promised to be “set against a darkly macabre backdrop,” the film is at once a musical, horror and romance.
Comer, best known for playing Villanelle in “Killing Eve” and more recently Kathy in “The Bikeriders,” has long expressed her interest in starring in a musical. She even previously sang, albeit very briefly, in the film “Free Guy” alongside Ryan Reynolds.
Her character has a penchant for Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy,” and quietly sings it here and there onscreen, but Comer also recorded a haunting ballad version for the climax of the film.
Melling is best known for starring in “The Queen’s Gambit,” as well as in the “Harry Potter” films as Dudley Dursley.
“Stuffed” is produced by Sam Ritzenberg and Dimitra Tsingou, alongside Myles Payne and Hayley Williams of Agile Films, with Danny Roberts, Jackie Langelier and H.S. Naji of Fresh Fish Films. Adam Knopf is co-producer.
Executive producers include David Staniland for Agile Films, Sara Schuster for Fresh Fish Films, Louise Ortega for the BFI, Kiah Simpson and Kimberley Warner for Ffilm Cymru Wales, John Glencross and Mariyah Dosani for Calculus Media and Mark Gooder and Alison Thompson for Cornerstone Films.
Original music and lyrics are written and composed by Joss Holden-Rea, with Sarah Bridge of 45RPM serving as music supervisor, Eoin Mallon as vocal director and Academy Award winner John Warhurst as executive music producer.
