About

Richard Linklater's untitled transcendentalist film is a passion project roughly 20 years in the making, centered on the American literary movement of the 1830s and 1840s that gave rise to feminism, environmentalism, and abolitionism. Linklater describes it as a hangout movie about "the hippies of the 1830s and '40s" -- a period-piece ensemble following Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller as they challenged the conventions of their era. Ethan Hawke is set to portray Emerson in what will be his tenth collaboration with Linklater, following Blue Moon (2025). Natalie Portman is attached to play Margaret Fuller, and Oscar Isaac would portray Henry David Thoreau. Hawke has expressed extraordinary enthusiasm for the project, stating publicly in January 2026 that he believes it "will be among the greatest films ever made." Linklater has been refining the screenplay with input from historians since the late 1990s and got to know Emerson scholar Robert Richardson before his passing. Filming is confirmed for 2026, with a likely festival premiere in 2027. Linklater has noted the scope of the material is so vast he has considered expanding it into a limited series format. The project is expected to shoot in Austin, Texas, where Linklater has based his filmmaking operation for decades through the Austin Film Society, which he founded in 1985.