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Jesse Eisenberg’s new theater-themed film, The Debut, will hit theaters this December. Deadline has reported that A24 will release the title for a limited theatrical run beginning December 11, before a wide release on Christmas. Ahead of its opening, the movie is expected to hold its world premiere screening at a film festival this fall.
The Debut follows a timid woman (Julianne Moore) who is unexpectedly cast in a community theater production of an original musical. After joining the production, she finds herself lost under the spell of her character and the domineering director (Paul Giamatti). In addition to directing the feature, Eisenberg wrote the screenplay, original songs, and also stars in the film.
A recent trailer introduced Giamatti’s role as the intimidating director, described by one character as “basically the biggest name in New Jersey community theater.” Also previewed is Moore’s journey from rehearsal to opening night, matching the director’s relentless demands for perfection with a resilient and strong-willed spirit.
The cast for the film includes Broadway legend Bernadette Peters, The Little Mermaid star Halle Bailey, Cara Buono, Tony Award-nominee Craig Bierko, and Eldar Isgandarov.
Drama Desk winner K. Todd Freeman, Havana Rose Liu (Bottoms, off-Broadway’s All Nighter), Tony Award-winner Bonnie Milligan, Dear Evan Hansen’s Colton Ryan, Lilli Cooper (Off-Broadway’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Spring Awakening), and Maulik Pancholy (30 Rock, Phineas and Ferb) round out the movie’s ensemble.
Eisenberg produces The Debut, alongside Emma Stone, Dave McCary, and Ali Herting. Music supervision was done by Steven Gizicki, with Bill Sherman as the executive music producer. Hamilton’s Andy Blankenbuehler was the choreographer for the film.
Most recently, Eisenberg wrote, directed, and starred in the 2024 dramedy A Real Pain alongside Kieran Culkin. Eisenberg made his television debut with the short-lived comedy-drama series Get Real (1999–2000). Following his first leading role in the film Roger Dodger (2002), he appeared in the films The Village (2004) and The Squid and the Whale (2005) and led the 2009 comedies Adventureland and Zombieland. He gained wider recognition for starring as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in David Fincher’s film The Social Network (2010), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Eisenberg’s playwriting credits include The Revisionist, The Spoils, and Happy Talk. Stage acting credits include Summer and Smoke (1996), The Gathering (1999), Orphans (2005), Scarcity (2007), The Final Interrogation of Ceausescu’s Dog (2015), A Little Part of All of Us (2015), The Blizzard (2016), Oh, Hello (2016), The People Speak (2017), Shoshana and Her Lovers (2017), as well as The 24-Hour Plays on Broadway.
