Wild Horse Nine is officially Venice-bound. Searchlight Pictures’ upcoming dark comedy from writer-director Martin McDonagh landed a coveted spot in the main competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, the Disney-owned studio’s highest-profile awards season play of the fall as the lineup was unveiled on Thursday.
A Dark CIA Comedy With A Stacked Cast
According to Variety, Wild Horse Nine follows CIA agents who are dispatched from Santiago to Easter Island shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup. The ensemble is exactly the kind of murderers’ row fans expect from McDonagh, with John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell leading a cast that also includes Steve Buscemi, Tom Waits, and Parker Posey. Rockwell reunites with the filmmaker who directed him to an Academy Award for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
The film will compete for the Golden Lion against new work from directors like Danny Boyle, Florian Zeller, Werner Herzog, Hirokazu Kore-eda, and Lee Chang-dong, with a competition jury led this year by Maggie Gyllenhaal. The festival opens on September 2 with Boyle’s Ink.
Venice Has Been Good To McDonagh And Searchlight
The Lido has become something of a lucky charm for this partnership. McDonagh’s last two features, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and The Banshees of Inisherin, both premiered at Venice under the Searchlight banner and rode that launch to major awards runs, combining for multiple Oscar wins and nominations. Landing the same slot for Wild Horse Nine immediately positions the film as one of the studio’s top contenders heading into awards season.
Wild Horse Nine is one of several Disney titles headed to the Lido this year. As we recently reported, the Oasis reunion documentary Don’t Look Back In Anger will premiere at Venice as well, and National Geographic’s Everest: The Other Side is also set to screen. The festival runs September 2 through 12, giving the film a prime launchpad before Searchlight releases Wild Horse Nine in theaters on November 6, 2026, squarely in the heart of awards season.
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