Hollywood’s new A-list are wise to say no to franchises

Welcome to the new rules of nascent movie stardom, writes Adam White, where traditional sure-things now feel like a risk, and Brie Larson and Rachel Zegler are cautionary tales

- Adam White

To quote the cinematic classic Showgirls, There’s always someone younger and hungrier coming down the stairs afteryou.” This adage, which applies to most forms of work but particularly the entertainment industry, has fuelled moviemaking for decades. Actors are, they say, only as good as their next project. If one disappears for a few months, they may disappear for ever.

The pop culture memory is short – actors better keep themselves in the spotlight at all times. For Anora star Mikey Madison, though, who was crowned the darling of Hollywood when she scooped the Best Actress Oscar in March, these claims appear to be of no concern. She is currently (and excitingly) out of work, turning down high-profile roles left, right and centre. And it’s a sign of an industry that’s undergoing a thrilling evolution right before our eyes.

Since winning her Oscar – to the surprise of many who assumed The Substance’s Demi Moore would take it home instead – Madison has reportedly been approached for a handful of major movies. One was Universal’s forthcoming adaptation of the Colleen Hoover novel Reminders of Him, which – quality aside – is likely to mirror the stratospheric box-office success of the otherwise doomed Blake Lively/Justin Baldoni weepie It Ends with Us. But Madison said no (Longlegs’s similarly alliterative Maika Monroe swooped in with a yes).

She’s been linked to reboots of The Chronicles of Narnia and Resident Evil, yet neither seems (so far) to have enticed her. And then this week came word that Madison has turned down a forthcoming Star Wars movie, directed by Deadpool & Wolverine’s Shawn Levy and co-starring Ryan Gosling.