Adam Sandler is reportedly reuniting with the directing duo responsible for Uncut Gems for a new project. Released in 2019, Uncut Gems tells the story of a gambling-addicted jeweller (Sandler) who makes a high-stakes bet in the hopes of paying off his debts and driving angry collectors away. Uncut Gems proved popular with critics and boasts a 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with many calling Sandler’s performance the best of his career. The film was more divisive amongst general audiences, however, and holds only a 52% audience score.
Directed by Benny and Josh Safdie, commonly referred to as the Safdie brothers, Uncut Gems marks the duo’s follow-up to their 2017 breakout thriller, Good Time, starring Robert Pattinson. In addition to Sandler, Uncut Gems also stars Julia Fox, Idina Menzel, and Lakeith Stanfield. Made on a budget of $19 million, the film, which was distributed by A24, would go on to earn over $50 million worldwide. While not recognized at the Oscars, Uncut Gems won Sandler an Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead, with the Safdie brothers also taking home the award for Best Director.
According to a new report from IndieWire, Sandler is poised to re-team with the Safdie brothers for a new mystery project. No details about the project have been released just yet, but the report suggests that both parties are “cooking up” something together. There’s also no word on whether the project will be distributed by A24, the company that bought distribution rights for both of the Safdies’ previous films.
Uncut Gems marks a significant departure for Sandler from his usual types of straight-to-streaming comedies. The actor recently wrapped filming on Murder Mystery 2, the sequel to the 2019 Netflix comedy Murder Mystery alongside Jennifer Aniston, and is known to create “low-brow” comedies that typically don’t fare well with critics. Considering the tonality of the Safdie brothers’ projects thus far, it’s a fair assumption that their next project will be more serious in tone than most of Sandler’s other movies, and that it will give the actor another opportunity to flex his drama acting muscles.
Uncut Gems was a surprise hit from 2019 and marks a high point for Sandler’s career. While there is fun to be had with the types of straight-to-streaming comedies the actor has become synonymous with, it’s refreshing to see Sandler take on different, more challenging roles from time to time. It remains to be seen what the future holds for the working relationship between the Safdie brothers and Sandler, but, if Good Time and Uncut Gems are an indication of the type of quality audiences can expect, it would seem that their next collaboration will be a highly anticipated release.
