Aziz Ansari sets untitled comedic drama as feature directorial debut, to co-star with Bill Murray

Actor-comic Aziz Ansari will make his feature directorial debut with an untitled comedic drama for Searchlight Pictures. According to Variety, Ansari will also co-star in the film with “Ghostbusters” veteran Bill Murray.

Ansari, who created the Netflix series “Master of None”, will also write the screenplay and produce the movie slated to be released theatrically in 2023. The film is billed as a screen adaptation of the 2014 nonfiction book “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End”. Penned by Atul Gawande, a practising surgeon, the book takes a look at the limitations and failures of modern medicine at the end of a person’s life through reflections and personal stories.

Since plot details have not been announced, it is unclear who Ansari or Murray will play in the film. “Aziz Ansari is an incredible talent and, with this script, he brings a singular combination of insightful humor and pathos. We’re thrilled to be partnering with him on his feature directorial debut, which is long overdue, and, of course, working with the genius Bill Murray once again,” Searchlight Presidents David Greenbaum and Matthew Greenfield said in a statement.

Taylor Friedman and Cameron Chidsey are overseeing for Searchlight. Youree Henley will co-produce the film with Ansari, who took a break from Hollywood after sexual misconduct allegations were levelled against him in 2018. He has since returned to work with “Master of None: Moments in Love” and his sixth stand-up special, “Nightclub Comedian”. Murray recently starred in Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch” and Jason Reitman’s “Ghostbusters: Afterlife”. (PTI)