James Franco Lands First Studio Blockbuster Role in Nearly 10 Years

4 articles · Updated · Deadline · May 14

Franco said he has already shot a role in a “big studio movie,” which he expects to arrive in late 2026 or spring-summer 2027.
The actor described it as his first blockbuster in close to a decade, saying 2017’s The Disaster Artist was the last project he would count as a studio picture.
Studio work thinned after Franco’s 2021 legal settlement with former acting students who had accused him of sexual misconduct, though he said he has kept working rather than disappearing.
At Cannes, Franco pointed to four straight years of market activity and promoted Foster, an 1980s-set thriller he stars in, produces and helped rewrite.

Why are major studios like New Line and A24 backing James Franco's blockbuster return after his nearly decade-long absence?

Does James Franco's return prove star power now outweighs Hollywood's post-#MeToo accountability standards?