UPDATE: According to Jenna Ortega’s representation, Ortega has not taken the role as of yet.
Surging superstar Jenna Ortega, fresh off the smash-hit Netflix show Wednesday and the Scream series, has her next role lined up, and it’s a new comedy from A24 Films and producer Jonah Hill. The new film, titled Y2K is about a group of kids ready to party like it’s 1999, as it’s set on New Year’s Eve right before the new millennium kicks in, and all hell breaks loose.
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Jonah Hill is producing the film along with Matt Dines under their Strong Baby Productions LLC banner. Amanda Roberts is executive producing the picture for A24 Films.
JONAH HILL PRODUCING NEW APOCALYPTIC A.I. COMEDY Y2K FOR A24 FILMS
The premise has a Superbad and Booksmart-style premise with a bit of a twist. When a group of nerdy high schoolers attempts to go to the cool kids’ New Year’s Eve party, the literal Y2K bug kicks in, and computers start running amok and go on a deadly killing spree. These unlikely kids go on an epic odyssey to stop the violent computers and save their city.
The production has courted an impressive cast so far, including Jaeden Martell (IT, IT: Chapter Two), Jenna Ortega (Wednesday, X, Scream, Scream VI), Lachlan Watson (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Julian Dennison (Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Godzilla vs. Kong, Deadpool 2), Alicia Silverstone (Clueless), and Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst. There’s no word yet on the roles and characters the actors will be portraying in the films. Along with rapper The Kid LAROI, Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets, Heavenly Creatures), Fred Hechinger (The White Lotus, Pam & Tommy), Sebastian Chacon (Penny Dreadful: City of Angels), and Miles Robbins (Blockers, Halloween).
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Y2K is reportedly shooting already. Kyle Mooney (Brigsby Bear) is making his directorial debut for the feature along with Evan Winter, who comes from a music video directing background. Mooney will both direct and handle screenplay duties for the wild teen romp. The film has an estimated budget of $10 million and seems to have all of the elements to be the next cult classic.
A Y2K History Lesson For Millennials
For those who are either too young to remember, have forgotten, or weren’t even born yet, in 1999 there was the big “Y2K Scare” that year, where people feared that a computer flaw or bug would have caused problems on a global scale after December 31, 1999. Fortunately, nothing went wrong, and the world continued to turn as per usual.
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However, the changing of the millennium caused a lot of hysteria and paranoia about the end of the world, and the Y2K scare was overhyped as a result. An underdog teenage comedy that explores an alternate reality where Y2K actually happens and computers run wild sounds like a fun and potentially exciting premise.
A24 has not set a release date for Y2K. Per our source, production should be underway soon in New Jersey. What do you think of the news? Do you like the cast for Y2K? Are there any other upcoming film roles you’d like to see Jenna Ortega in? What do you think of the premise? Were you around for Y2K? If so, what do you remember about that night? Tell us all about your wildest New Year’s story! Then let us know what you think about the Y2K news over on the Illuminderdi Twitter account.
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