Bradley Cooper sets next film to direct after ‘Maestro’: team up with Buddy Will Arnett

Bradley Cooper has found his next project to direct after his upcoming Leonard Bernstein project “Maestro,” and it’s teamed up with someone near and dear to his heart, his friend Will Arnett.

Cooper is attached to direct “Is This Thing On?”, and both Cooper and Arnett will also star in and produce the film which has a script written by Arnett and Mark Chappell (“See How They Run”), an individual with knowledge of the project he told IndieWire. The film is currently in development at Searchlight and is being described as a dark comedy, although plot details are being kept under wraps.

Arnett and Chappell have done the first draft of the script, and Cooper is expected to make a pass on the script once the writers’ strike ends.

Cooper to Produce “Is This Thing On?” under his Lea Pictures banner, with Arnett and Kris Thykier also producing. John Bishop is the executive producer of the project.

Cooper and Arnett have been close for the past 20 years, when the two shared an apartment building early in their careers. But their ties go deeper, as Cooper appeared on the 100th episode of Arnett’s podcast ‘SmartLess’ in 2022 and revealed that Arnett helped Cooper overcome substance abuse issues that helped change his life and career.

Cooper’s ‘Maestro’, his follow-up to ‘A Star Is Born’ (2018), figures as a major Oscar contender when it is released later this year by Netflix. Cooper was also recently one of the stars of “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3” when he reprized his role as the voice of Rocket Raccoon.

Arnett is producing Peacock’s upcoming series “Twisted Metal,” debuting in July, and will co-star in Taika Waititi’s “Next Goal Wins,” also for Searchlight Pictures.

Cooper is represented by Range Media Partners. Arnett is represented by CAA, Artists First, and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern.

Expiration first reported the news.