McKenzie, 23, has just been announced to star in live-action film Grendel.
She will play Queen Wealhtheow (Queen of the Danes) in the movie, based on the legendary monster at the heart of the classic epic Beowulf – a tale that was last adapted for the big screen in 2007.
The Jojo Rabbit actor will star alongside Academy Award and Golden Globe winner Jeff Bridges; Academy Award nominee, Golden Globe and six-time Emmy Award winner Bryan Cranston and Academy, Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Sam Elliott.
Academy Award and Golden Globe winner Jeff Bridges will also star in the film. Photo / Taylor Hill / WireImage
Starring with award winners isn’t new to McKenzie, she has previously worked with Oscar winner Anne Hathaway in last year’s psychological thriller Eileen, and with Golden Globe winner Anya Taylor-Joy in another psychological thriller Last Night in Soho in 2021.
Grendel is described as an iconic monster tale, and it’s being made by famous The Jim Henson Company, internationally known for its world and character creations.
The movie is being directed by Robert D. Krzykowski of The Man Who Killed Hitler fame.
Alongside McKenzie’s Queen Wealhtheow, Bridges is set to star as Grendel, Cranston as King Hrothgar and Elliott as The Dragon.
The stellar cast is rounded out by Guardians of the Galaxy star Dave Bautista, playing Beowulf, and The Hobbit actor Aidan Turner as Unferth. Eleven years ago, McKenzie also worked on The Hobbit.
Grendel is set to film later this year in Europe.
McKenzie will also get to work with Golden Globe and six-time Emmy Award winner Bryan Cranston. Photo / Bryan Bedder / Getty Images for Americares
McKenzie, who came to worldwide critical acclaim after her role in 2018′s Leave no Trace, was back in New Zealand last summer to film Kiwi director Andrew Niccol’s film I, Object in Wellington.
Her Netflix feature, the medical-trailblazer film Joy (which also stars Love Actually’s Bill Nighy) and is due out soon.
McKenzie is also taking a comic turn and is understood to be shooting the English film Fackham Hall – described as a Downtown Abbey spoof – penned by English comedian Jimmy Carr and co-starring Hero Fiennes Tiffin.
And there’s more… McKenzie has another production in the works, starring in psychological horror Self-Portrait, set in a run-down artist’s warehouse in 1990s Brooklyn, in which she will co-star with Big Little Lies actor Zoë Kravitz.
