Martin McDonagh's 'Wild Horse Nine' Premieres at Venice Film Festival With Dark CIA Tale

For some, Martin McDonagh's latest feature is a razor-sharp buddy comedy about two eccentric intelligence agents bickering their way across a remote island paradise. For others—and increasingly for the director himself—it is a somber, guilt-ridden reckoning with the United States' history of covert global interventions. The tension between those two reads is exactly where "Wild Horse Nine" planted its flag Thursday at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. The film, which marks McDonagh's first return to the Lido since 2022, balances the pitch-black humor of his earlier work with a heavy historical conscience, asking audiences to laugh at the absurdity of its characters while confronting the very real damage they leave in their wake.[1][2]

The narrative drops audiences onto the shores of Easter Island in the late summer of 1973, just weeks before the military coup that would overthrow Chilean President Salvador Allende. Amid the island's sacred statues, aging CIA officer Chris, played by John Malkovich, and his brash protégé Lee, played by Sam Rockwell, wrestle with paranoia and the ghosts of past operations. They are managed from afar by their Santiago-based handler MJ, played by Steve Buscemi, in an assignment that rapidly spirals out of control when Chris begins experiencing a profound existential crisis over his long career in intelligence.[1][2][3]

McDonagh, whose previous film "The Banshees of Inisherin" earned 9 Oscar nominations in 2022, originally envisioned a much simpler narrative for his highly anticipated follow-up. Early drafts of the script centered on 2 actors, or alternatively a father and son, before the British-Irish filmmaker pivoted to the 1973 Chilean coup—a historical pivot point that had fascinated him since his teenage years. That decision fundamentally altered the project's DNA, shifting the focus from interpersonal friction to institutional complicity and the long shadow of American foreign policy.[2]

"I realized then that the story could be about one of the guys experiencing guilt and regret over all these things he's done," McDonagh told reporters at the festival's press conference. "It took it away from being a simple comedy to something much deeper and sadder." The director noted that the film's protagonist reflects critically on a string of real-world CIA interventions, transforming the tropical setting into a backdrop for a moral reckoning that challenges the audience to look past the rapid-fire jokes.[2]

The production itself was a logistical feat, marking one of the few Hollywood films ever to shoot on Easter Island. The crew had to transport all cameras and period-specific 1970s vehicles to the remote location to ensure historical accuracy. The commitment to the ensemble dynamic was so strong that Parker Posey, who plays Lee's wife, and Buscemi both flew to the island simply to perform off-camera phone calls to support their co-stars during filming. "What a mystical place," Posey remarked of the experience, highlighting the stark contrast between the island's serene beauty and the script's dark themes.[2]

The casting of Buscemi adds another layer of history to the production, bringing a veteran character actor into McDonagh's tightly knit ensemble. The actor admitted he "practically stalked" McDonagh at a previous Venice Film Festival to secure a role in whatever the director was developing next, telling the filmmaker, "you have to work with me right?" The persistence paid off, with McDonagh describing the resulting collaboration on the remote island set as one of the best film experiences he has ever had in his career.[2]

Early reactions from the Lido suggest Searchlight Pictures has another formidable awards-season contender on its hands ahead of the film's November 6, 2026 theatrical release. Critics are already circling Malkovich and Rockwell for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor nods, praising the script's signature incisive dialogue and Ben Davis's sweeping cinematography. Malkovich, who already holds 2 career Oscar nominations, anchored the film's reception with his nuanced portrayal of a spy in crisis, though McDonagh simply noted that "the nicest thing is that the film gets attention."[2][3]

As the festival circuit continues with upcoming stops, the conversation around the film is likely to remain split between its comedic surface and its geopolitical bite. McDonagh himself noted the eerie timing of the release amid current global tensions, observing that modern covert operations "don't seem to be making it covert anymore." For a film about the ghosts of 1973, the director suggested the present day is looking awfully familiar, concluding his press conference with a wry observation: "It just feels like things are getting stupider, and stupider and stupider."[2]