MOVIE NEWS – Ana de Armas has officially found her next erotic thriller: Palm Grove, in which she will star opposite Kate Hudson, with Kornél Mundruczó set to direct. The film takes viewers into one of Miami’s most exclusive neighborhoods, where a picture-perfect marriage hides a double life and a seductive power game.
Ana de Armas has already moved through a wide range of roles, from horror and mystery to biographical drama and major franchises, with Knives Out, Blonde, No Time to Die, and Blade Runner 2049 all marking important points in her career. Now she is returning to a darker, more adult-driven space with Palm Grove, an erotic thriller that gives her another chance to work within a genre she has only partly explored so far.
Erotic thrillers were once one of Hollywood’s most profitable and star-driven genres, especially through the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, before largely fading from the mainstream in the 2000s. Recent projects such as The Housemaid, Babygirl, and The Voyeurs suggest that audiences are again interested in slick, tense, adult-skewing stories, especially when they are built around recognizable performers and a sharp central hook.
In Palm Grove, de Armas will be joined by Kate Hudson, creating an amusing connection to the Knives Out franchise: de Armas broke through for many viewers in Rian Johnson’s first film, while Hudson later appeared in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Both actors have also earned Academy Award recognition, with Hudson nominated for Almost Famous and de Armas for Blonde. Their pairing gives the project more weight than a simple genre exercise.
De Armas has already stepped into erotic thriller territory once before with Deep Water, in which she starred opposite her then-boyfriend Ben Affleck. That film had a difficult path to release, with post-production and distribution plans disrupted by the pandemic before it ultimately became a Hulu exclusive in 2022. The public fascination with de Armas and Affleck’s relationship also ended up overshadowing the film itself, especially because it arrived after the couple had split. Hudson, by contrast, is still best known for romantic comedies and lighter material, making Palm Grove a more unexpected turn for her.
The story is set in one of Miami’s most exclusive neighborhoods, where a seemingly perfect wife uncovers her husband’s double life. What begins as betrayal turns into a seductive contest of control, transforming the discovery into the most intoxicating game of her life. The script is based on an original story by James Morosini, while Kornél Mundruczó will direct, bringing the filmmaker behind Pieces of a Woman back to an English-language project with major international stars. Palm Grove is therefore not only Ana de Armas’ next erotic thriller, but also another major Hollywood step for the Hungarian director.
Source: MovieWeb
