Lionsgate has acquired North American and UK distribution rights to Wet, the forthcoming film from director Alma Har’el. The project is being produced by Fifth Season and 193, A Legendary Company, alongside Har’el, Christopher Leggett and Riva Marker for Linden Entertainment.

Wet has assembled a cast including Connor Storrie, Rebecca Ferguson, Odessa A’Zion, Javier Bardem, Rosalia and Lukas Haas. Production is currently set to begin in 2027. No plot details, release date, rating, or information about the characters has been disclosed.

That last point is worth underlining: the title and the deal create an immediate hook, but the film itself remains deliberately undefined in public. At this stage, the confirmed story is about a creative team, a cast, and a distribution arrangement—not a synopsis. Anything beyond that, including genre expectations or assumptions based on the title, would be speculation.

What Lionsgate’s deal actually covers

The acquisition gives Lionsgate the rights to distribute Wet in North America and the United Kingdom. Distribution is the process of bringing a completed film to its audience, which can involve decisions around release strategy, marketing, theatrical bookings, and other platform arrangements. The announcement does not specify how Wet will ultimately be released in either territory.

Fifth Season and 193 remain on the producing side of the film. In practical terms, producers help move a project from screenplay to production and beyond, while a distributor is responsible for bringing the finished feature to market in the territories covered by its deal. Those roles can overlap in the broader business of a movie, but they are distinct jobs.

Scott O’Brien and MaryGrace Stephenson are overseeing the project for Lionsgate. Jordan Backhus will oversee creative for Fifth Season. Christopher Davis and Lauren Bixby negotiated for the studio, while WME Independent, 193 and BALA negotiated for the filmmakers.

A cast built from different corners of screen culture

The announced ensemble pairs established performers with younger actors and music-world talent. Ferguson, Bardem and Haas join Storrie, A’Zion and Rosalia, though there is no information yet on the scale or nature of any role. The cast list alone does not establish who leads the story, which actors share scenes, or how the film will be structured.

Still, it gives Wet a notable group of names before filming has started. That matters because an early package—industry shorthand for the combined elements of a project, such as its screenplay, director, cast and producing partners—can be central to securing financing and distribution support.

Adam Fogelson, chair of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, called the screenplay and package “undeniable” and highlighted both Har’el’s direction and the people involved behind and in front of the camera. His statement also leaned into the title with a water-themed line, saying the studio was ready to “get in the water” with the team.

“Lately, I’ve had to find humor in chaos and humanity in the most unpredictable situations,” Har’el said. “I’m grateful to Lionsgate for embracing a film that speaks to this wild moment in time. I’m incredibly excited to bring this remarkable group of actors together and make a film that refuses to behave.”

Har’el’s description offers mood and creative intent rather than narrative specifics. References to humor, chaos, humanity and unpredictability suggest the director sees the film as something resistant to easy classification, but they do not confirm a genre or storyline. Until further information is released, the clearest interpretation is simply that Har’el intends a project with an unconventional sensibility.

Har’el returns to feature filmmaking

Har’el’s earlier directing work includes Honey Boy, LoveTrue, Shadow Kingdom and Bombay Beach. She received Film Independent Spirit Award nominations for best director for Honey Boy and for Bombay Beach. Her work on Honey Boy also made her the first woman to win the DGA Award for first-time feature film.

More recently, Har’el created, executive produced and directed the 2024 Apple TV+ limited series Lady in the Lake, starring Natalie Portman and Lupita Nyong’o. A limited series is a television production conceived as a self-contained story with a defined run, rather than an ongoing show designed for successive seasons.

That experience does not reveal what Wet will be, but it does establish that Har’el has worked across film and serialized television, with responsibilities extending beyond directing. On Wet, she is also a producer and shares screenplay credit with Christian Stangeby.

Christian Stangeby shares the screenplay credit

Stangeby co-wrote Wet with Har’el. His previous credits include editing and work on short films and television series, including Ex on the Beach Norge and Hotellet.

A screenplay credit means the credited writers are recognized for creating the script, the written blueprint that typically contains dialogue, scene action and the story’s progression. It does not, by itself, tell audiences how the writing collaboration was divided or whether the script will change during development and production. Films often continue to evolve as they move toward cameras rolling.

For now, the notable point is that Har’el is not solely directing material written by someone else; she is a credited co-writer. That connection between writer and director can be significant for a film’s eventual creative identity, particularly when the director has publicly framed the project in personal terms.

What is known—and what remains open

The current facts around Wet are comparatively straightforward:

  • Lionsgate holds distribution rights for North America and the UK.
  • Alma Har’el will direct and co-wrote the screenplay with Christian Stangeby.
  • Connor Storrie, Rebecca Ferguson, Odessa A’Zion, Javier Bardem, Rosalia and Lukas Haas are attached to the cast.
  • Fifth Season and 193 are producing alongside Har’el, Leggett and Marker.
  • Production is planned to start in 2027.

What has not been announced is equally important:

  • No premise or character descriptions.
  • No genre designation.
  • No specific production start date or filming location.
  • No release window.
  • No stated theatrical, streaming or hybrid release plan.

Those missing details are normal for a film that has not begun production. The early stages of a project’s public life often focus on its principal collaborators and business partners, with story information held back until a later production update or marketing campaign.

The production team behind the film

Christopher Slager and Graham Taylor will executive produce for Fifth Season, while Patrick Wachsberger and Ashley Stern will executive produce for 193. Executive producer is a credit that can cover a range of high-level contributions, including helping assemble a project, securing financing, guiding its business strategy, or providing senior creative oversight. The announcement does not define each individual executive producer’s specific responsibilities on Wet.

The producers named alongside Har’el are Christopher Leggett and Riva Marker of Linden Entertainment. With the director also producing, writing and directing, Wet is taking shape as a film with Har’el involved across several major creative and production functions.

There is plenty more to learn before the movie reaches viewers. But the acquisition provides a concrete first step: Wet now has a confirmed distributor for two major territories, a director-screenwriter with an established body of work, and a cast that makes the film one to watch as its 2027 production plans take form. For another recent look at a film project still finding its route to the screen, see the renewed movement around Constantine 2.