Protagonist Pictures has boarded sales on Hera Pictures’ seductive new thriller The Return of Stanley Atwell, starring Nicholas Galitzine (The Idea of You, “Mary & George”) and Marisa Abela (“Industry”, Black Bag). With equity finance from John Gore Studios, the project, from the team behind Hamnet and “Mary & George”, will hit the Cannes Marché, Protagonist CEO Dave Bishop announced today.
The Return of Stanley Atwell, is written and directed by Brian Welsh (Beats, “Black Mirror”), based on a story by Academy Award® winning filmmaker Steven Soderbergh who also serves as Executive Producer. This is Welsh and Soderbergh’s second collaboration as director and executive producer, having first teamed on one of the most acclaimed debuts of recent years, Beats. The film is produced by Liza Marshall for Hera Pictures, currently in post-production on Amblin Entertainment, Hera Pictures and Neal Street Production’s Hamnet, directed by Academy Award® Winner Chloé Zhao and starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley. John Gore will serve as producer for John Gore Studios.
Executive Producers for The Return of Stanley Atwell also include Protagonist’s Dave Bishop, George Hamilton and James Pugh alongside Hilary Strong for John Gore Studios. Award winning cinematographer Benjamin Kracun (The Substance, Promising Young Woman) is confirmed as Director of Photography.
Stanley Atwell (Galitzine), the presumed dead son and heir to Lord Atwell’s title and fortune, unexpectedly returns to the family estate having escaped a decade of mysterious captivity. Atwell’s shocking reappearance causes chaos as he finds his sister Beatrice fighting to claim his inheritance, whilst close friend Pamela (Abela) manipulates his puzzling return, and a dark family secret, in a bid to seize control of the Atwell fortune. Sex, passion, backstabbing and betrayal wreak havoc across the estate as the lies and deception the Atwell name has been built upon start to unravel. How far is each family member willing to go to protect their own wealth and status… and what is really behind the return of Stanley Atwell?
Steven Soderbergh, Executive Producer says, “I’ve wanted to be in the Brian Welsh business since I saw his episode from season one of Black Mirror. I soon discovered he’s as good a writer as he is a director, and the proof is how he expanded and improved the original idea for Stanley Atwell into something that has attracted top producers and a great cast. Now comes the fun part for me: watching him go do his thing!”
Brian Welsh, Writer and Director says, “The Return of Stanley Atwell is a mischievous and subversive mystery thriller – a punky, raunchy takedown of the British Aristocracy that claws wildly at the unwritten rules that hold hierarchy in place. I’m thrilled to be teaming up with the legend that is Steven Soderbergh, the brilliant Liza Marshall and the team at Hera. Marisa Abela as PAMELA and Nick Galitzine as STANLEY ATWELL is dream casting, and the script is packed with delicious moments where these two phenomenal rising stars go toe-to-toe. We look forward to working with Dave and the team at Protagonist and everyone at John Gore Studios as collaborators.”
Liza Marshall, Producer Hera Pictures says, “The Return of Stanley Atwell is a combination of sharp storytelling and bold, provocative filmmaking. We are very proud to bring together Steven’s original story, Brian’s distinctive writing and direction, and this extraordinary cast. The collaboration between them has created something truly special — a seductive, entertaining thriller that feels fresh, provocative, and impossible to look away from. We’re pleased to partner with Protagonist to bring the film to Cannes.”
Dave Bishop, Protagonist CEO says, “The Return of Stanley Atwell dives into a world of privilege, secrets, and simmering tension. It’s a seductive thriller that explores what happens when the past crashes violently into the present — and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be partnering with Liza Marshall and the team at Hera Pictures to bring Steven Soderbergh’s original story, through Brian Welsh’s bold vision, to Cannes. With the brilliant Brian and Benjamin Kracun behind the lens, and a phenomenal cast led by Nicholas Galitzine and Marisa Abela the Atwell family and its dark mysteries are set to captivate audiences.”
Brian Welsh earned widespread acclaim with his coming-of-age feature Beats, set against the backdrop of Scotland’s 1990s rave scene. The film picked up several British Independent Film Awards and established Welsh as one of the U.K.’s most exciting voices. His television work includes standout episodes of “Black Mirror” and Glasgow Girls, which won multiple awards including a BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Original Programme. Welsh most recently directed the highly anticipated “What It Feels Like For a Girl”, produced by Hera Pictures for the BBC, which will headline this year’s SXSW London Festival.
Steven Soderbergh first broke out with his 1989 indie sensation sex, lies, and videotape, and went on to direct landmark films including Erin Brockovich, Traffic — which earned him an Academy Award® for Best Director — and the Ocean’s Eleven trilogy.
Nicholas Galitzine most recently starred opposite Anne Hathaway in Amazon’s hit The Idea of You, and in the streamer’s fan-favorite Red, White & Royal Blue alongside Taylor Zakhar Perez and Uma Thurman. His film credits also include MGM’s instant cult classic Bottoms with Ayo Edebiri and Rachel Sennott, Netflix’s Purple Hearts opposite Sofia Carson, and Amazon’s
Cinderella starring Camila Cabello. On the TV side, he appears in Starz’s Mary & George opposite Julianne Moore.
British breakthrough Marisa Abela continues her meteoric rise with a 2025 BAFTA TV Award nomination for her enthralling performance in the third season of the acclaimed banking drama, Industry. This follows her scene-stealing performance opposite Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett in the Steven Soderbergh-directed espionage thriller, Black Bag. She previously garnered unanimous critical praise for her tour de force performance as ‘Amy Winehouse’ in Back to Black, which earned her a nomination for a BAFTA EE Rising Star Award.
Galitzine is repped by Curtis Brown Group, WME Entertainment, Anonymous Content, Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman, and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole, The Lede Company; Abela is repped by The Artists Partnership, WME Entertainment, Shelter PR, and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern.
Soderbergh is repped by Sugar23 and Lichter, Grossman, Nichols; Welsh is repped by Independent Talent Group.
Read more at Deadline.
