Movies

Patricia Clarkson Joins Martin Scorsese’s What Happens at Night in High-Profile Team-Up

written by Leo Hartwell

January 26, 2026 3:17 am

Image credit: Legion-Media

Patricia Clarkson reunites with Martin Scorsese on What Happens at Night, her first return to his world since the mind-bending Shutter Island.

If you've been tracking Scorsese's next moves (because what obsessive film nerd isn't?), there's actually something kind of wild brewing behind the scenes. Patricia Clarkson, who I'll always picture as Brenda's ice-cold mom from Six Feet Under even though she's popped up literally everywhere, is joining the cast of Martin Scorsese's next movie. The film is called What Happens at Night, and yes, it already had Leonardo DiCaprio & Jennifer Lawrence circling the lead roles. At this point, a Scorsese set is starting to look like a reunion for Oscar winners and strong opinions.

So What Is This Thing, Anyway?

What Happens at Night is shaping up to be one of those strange, cerebral trips. Think snow, existential dread, and one of those empty hotels where the wallpaper is actively gaslighting you. The plot: a married American couple (we're assuming DiCaprio and Lawrence) goes to a remote, wintery European town to adopt a baby. They check into a huge hotel that's equal parts eerie and empty, and run into the sort of characters you'd expect to find in a fever dream: a bombastic singer, a creepy businessman, and a faith healer with way more charisma than anyone needs.

The less said about what's actually happening, the better, since it sounds like even the characters have no clue. Red flags are waving everywhere, honestly. It's adapted by Patrick Marber (Notes on a Scandal) from Peter Cameron's novel, and Apple is picking up the tab for the whole thing. Production is supposedly aiming to start in February.

Who's Signing Up for the Mind Games?

Patricia Clarkson - officially announced, and if there's a cryptic chanteuse, my money is on her
Leonardo DiCaprio - Scorsese regular, confirmed
Jennifer Lawrence - confirmed
Mads Mikkelsen - rumored, but nothing locked down (yet?)

Scorsese is Thinking About Vertigo (Yes, that Vertigo)

One thing that makes this project extra weird (in a good way)—DiCaprio let slip a while back that Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo is a 'reference point' for something he’s working on with Scorsese. Not rocket science to connect those dots, and it basically guarantees this movie will lean all the way into dreamy, nothing-is-what-it-seems territory.

"Any time you get to sit and talk with [Scorsese] about movies, it’s a religious experience. But when he talks about a movie he’s still trying to figure out, it’s like, ‘Each decade that movie means something different to me. Is she a ghost, or is she not a ghost? Is she there? Is he a ghost? What is it?’ ... So yeah, there’s something we’re working on that has been a reference to that."

In other words, expect vibes—lots of them.

Meanwhile, Scorsese is Spinning Half a Dozen Plates

If you thought What Happens at Night was the only thing Scorsese has his eye on, think again. The guy's got more projects on the theoretical stove than most people manage in a decade:

- A Hawaii-set crime drama (once had DiCaprio, Emily Blunt, and Dwayne Johnson attached)
- That Frank Sinatra biopic, with DiCaprio and Lawrence in the mix, currently collecting dust
- An adaptation of The Life of Jesus (based on Shūsaku Endō’s book), also apparently on pause
- And, in case you've forgotten, the eternal limbo of The Devil in the White City, which has been haunting development hell with DiCaprio in some form or another for years.

All that said, What Happens at Night is the one actually ramping up. Between the cast, the icy hotel setting, and Scorsese rummaging through Hitchcock's bag of tricks, this is the rare prestige project that has a real shot at being as strange as it is star-studded. If Clarkson is in, so am I.