Wagner Moura Replaces Oscar Isaac in Panos Cosmatos’ Vampire Thriller ‘Flesh of the Gods’ Alongside Kristen Stewart

Fresh off his first Academy Award nomination for The Secret Agent, Wagner Moura has inked a deal to star opposite Kristen Stewart in Flesh of the Gods, a vampire thriller from Mandy helmer Panos Cosmatos that A24 has newly boarded as U.S. distributor. Moura takes over a lead role from Oscar Isaac, who exited due to a scheduling conflict. The casting change marks a significant shift for the long-gestating project, which has been in development since 2024 and represents Cosmatos’ return to feature filmmaking eight years after his cult hit Mandy.

From Oscar Nominee to Vampire Lead

Moura made history with The Secret Agent by becoming the first Brazilian nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor, as well as the first Brazilian to win a Golden Globe for acting and Cannes’ prize for Best Actor. Released in the U.S. by Neon, the film from Kleber Mendonça Filho had him playing Marcelo, a technology expert who becomes entangled in a high-stakes political conspiracy amid the final years of Brazil’s military dictatorship.

The transition from playing a politically charged dramatic role to starring in a stylized vampire thriller demonstrates Moura’s versatility as an actor. Breaking out a little over a decade ago with his turn as Pablo Escobar in Netflix’s Narcos, which brought him his first Golden Globe nomination, Moura has also recently been seen in Alex Garland’s A24 film Civil War.

Cast Evolution Timeline

A Hedonistic ’80s Los Angeles Nightmare

Flesh of the Gods follows Raoul (Moura) and Alex (Stewart), a married couple in glittering ’80s Los Angeles who descend each evening from their luxury skyscraper condo and head into an electric nighttime realm. When they cross paths with the mysterious and enigmatic Nameless and her hard-partying cabal, Raoul and Alex are seduced into a glamorous, surrealistic world of hedonism, thrills and violence.

The film represents Stewart’s return to vampire cinema after launching her career with the Twilight franchise, though this project promises a vastly different approach to the genre. Cosmatos at the time described it as, much like Los Angeles itself, a film that “inhabits the liminal realm between fantasy and nightmare…Both propulsive and hypnotic, ‘Flesh’ will take you on a hot rod joy ride deep into the glittering heart of hell.”

Production Update and New Cast Additions

The 80s-set vampire thriller Flesh Of The Gods, starring Kristen Stewart and Wagner Moura, has started production in the Canary Islands, Spain, with the second half of the shoot scheduled for Cologne, Germany. Esmé Creed-Miles (Sense And Sensibility), Roland Møller (Citadel) and Alba Baptista (Voltron) have newly joined the cast. Also new to the cast are David Schütter, Duncan Hodgkinson, Chidi Ajufo, and Tasnim Jamlaoui. The expanded ensemble suggests Cosmatos is building a rich world around the central couple’s descent into vampiric chaos.

Production Details

Creative Team and Vision

The pic is written by Andrew Kevin Walker (Se7en) from a story by Cosmatos and Walker. Walker’s involvement brings considerable pedigree to the project, given his track record with dark, atmospheric thrillers that explore humanity’s darker impulses. Adam McKay and Betsy Koch are producing for HyperObject Industries, alongside Jonas Katzenstein and Maximilian Leo for Germany’s augenschein Filmproduktion, and Stewart and Maggie McLean for Nevermind Pictures. XYZ Films is handling international sales and financing the project in association with IPR.VC.

Key Production Partners

Cosmatos’ Return to Feature Filmmaking

Flesh of the Gods marks the fourth collaboration between Cosmatos and XYZ, as they produced the recent Miley Cyrus film Something Beautiful, which debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival last year. They also have Nekrokosm in development with A24.

The director’s distinctive visual style, characterized by neon-drenched atmospheres and surrealistic imagery, seems perfectly suited to an ’80s Los Angeles vampire tale. His previous work on Mandy demonstrated his ability to blend genre elements with arthouse sensibilities, creating films that are both viscerally thrilling and aesthetically ambitious.

Cast Members’ Recent and Upcoming Projects

The newly assembled cast brings diverse international talent to the project. Creed-Miles will next star opposite Daisy Edgar-Jones in Georgia Oakley’s Sense and Sensibility for Focus Features and Working Title. She recently wrapped production as the lead of Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala’s A Head Full of Ghosts opposite Rebecca Hall for Lionsgate. Last year she co-starred in Kristen Stewart’s directorial debut, The Chronology of Water. Danish actor Møller’s breakout performance was in the Oscar-nominated war drama Land of Mine. He’s also known for Atomic Blonde, Papillon, Skyscraper, The Commuter, Riders of Justice and the Amazon spy series Citadel.

Cast Filmographies

Industry Impact and Expectations

The project represents a significant investment by A24 in genre filmmaking, continuing their tradition of supporting visionary directors with distinctive voices. The combination of Cosmatos’ visual style, Walker’s dark storytelling sensibilities, and the star power of Stewart and Moura suggests a film that could appeal to both arthouse audiences and genre fans.

The vampire genre has seen a resurgence in recent years, with films like Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu remake generating significant buzz. Flesh of the Gods appears positioned to offer a unique take on vampire mythology, filtering it through the excess and decadence of 1980s Los Angeles.

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